Canadians are leery of putting their homes to work, suggests a new poll.
RBC Royal Bank’s 11th annual homeowners survey says Canadians may be missing the opportunity to take advantage of their home equity.
According to the RBC/ Ipsos-Reid poll, while 90 per cent of homeowners are aware that they can borrow against the equity in their home, only 23 per cent of all homeowners have actually done so.
Sixty-five per cent say they are uncomfortable borrowing against the equity in their home.
“Over time, most homeowners benefit from a home value that increases, while their mortgage amount decreases, leaving them untapped equity that can be used for other purposes” such as RRSP or RESP contributions, said Nancy Mitchell, national mortgage manager for RBC Royal Bank. “At today’s low rates, using this equity can be a great strategy for getting ahead.”
Eighty-one per cent of homeowners consider their home to be their most valuable asset, and 89 per cent say buying a home is a good investment.
According to data from the Canadian Real Estate Association, the average price of an MLS resale increased by 10 per cent in 2003.
Eighteen per cent of those who have a mortgage on their home intend to refinance their mortgage in the next 12 months, and of these, one-quarter say they will refinance more than their mortgage by $50,800 on average.
Of the 28 per cent who have refinanced their mortgages in the last 12 months, only three per cent have done so to consolidate debt.
The poll was conducted by Ipsos-Reid between February 3-15, 2004.
The telephone survey was based on a randomly selected representative sample of 2,000 adult Canadians, with results considered accurate to within ±2.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Royal Bank of Canada uses the initials RBC as a prefix for its businesses and operating subsidiaries, which operate under the master brand name of RBC Financial Group.
