Ipsos News and Polls

Women (49%) More Likely Than Men (35%) to be First-Time Buyers in the Housing Market

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:00:30 GMT

Toronto, ON – Almost half (49%) of likely female homebuyers who intend to purchase in the next two years will be buying their first home, compared to only a third of men (35%), according to a recent poll conducted by Ipsos Reid on behalf of RBC.

Canadians Say Lion’s Share of Retirement Savings on Their Own Shoulders

Wed, 09 May 2012 06:00:30 GMT

Toronto, ON – Canadians believe that they themselves are primarily responsible for ensuring they are financially secure in retirement, according to the quarterly RBC Canadian Consumer Outlook Index conducted by Ipsos Reid. On average, Canadians say that their share of the responsibility for ensuring they have a financially secure retirement is 59%, with the rest of the pie being divvied up and shared among the government (19%), their employer (10%), another family member (8%) or their financial advisor (5%).

Ipsos/RBC Consumer Outlook Index: May 2012

Thu, 03 May 2012 12:15:30 GMT

Washington, DC - Consumer confidence is up a point to stand at 47.6 for May, 2012. This small gain is mostly driven by improvements in economic expectations (up 1.7 points to 57.5) and current financial conditions (up 1.5 points to 38.7).

Fixed-Rate Mortgages Making a Comeback as Four in Ten (42%) Prospective Homebuyers Intend to Take Out a Fixed-Rate Mortgage

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:30:30 GMT

Toronto, ON – Among the 27% of Canadians who say they’re at least somewhat likely to buy a home within the next two years, four in ten (42%) prospective homebuyers are intending to take out a fixed-rate mortgage, once again making it the most popular type of mortgage, according to the 19th annual RBC homeownership poll conducted by Ipsos Reid. In 2008, 49% intended to take out a fixed-rate mortgage, but since then preference for this type of financing has been on a steady decline to a low of 40% last year, but has since rebounded up to 42%. By comparison, 37% intend to take out a combination mortgage, while two in ten (21%) favour a variable mortgage.

Retiring Boomer Business Owners Set Financial Example for Canadians, More Confident in Savings and Timing of Retirement

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 06:00:30 GMT

Toronto, ON – Boomers who are set to retire from running their own business within the next five years appear to do a better job than the average Canadian at running their own finances, apparently bringing some of that business sense into their own personal financial accounting, according to the 22nd annual RRSP poll conducted by Ipsos Reid on behalf of RBC.

Canadians Assess the 2012 Flaherty Federal Budget: Three Quarters (73%) View Budget as Good (18%) or a Wash (55%), Only Some say Bad (24%) or Will Hurt Them Personally (28%)

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 06:00:30 GMT

Toronto, ON – Reacting to the federal budget tabled by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty last Thursday in the House of Commons, three quarters (73%) of Canadians view the budget as being good or a wash (neither good nor bad), according to a new Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of Postmedia News and Global Television. A majority (55%) thinks it’s neither good nor bad and they’d symbolically just shrug their shoulders, while one in five (18%) say it’s good and they’d symbolically give it two thumbs up. One quarter (24%) thinks it’s bad and they’d symbolically give it two thumbs down and three percent (3%) don’t know. In contrast, last year more thought the budget was good (19%) than bad (16%).

Majority of Canadians Say Buy Now, Don’t Wait to Purchase a Home

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 10:15:30 GMT

Toronto, ON – Given current housing prices and economic conditions, a majority of Canadians say it makes more sense to buy a house now (59%, up 4 points), rather than wait until next year (41%, down 4 points), according to the 19th annual RBC Housing Study, conducted by Ipsos Reid. Residents of Alberta (69%) and Atlantic Canada (68%) are most likely to say it’s better to buy now, followed by those living in Ontario (59%), Quebec (57%), British Columbia (52%) and Saskatchewan and Manitoba (48%).

Ipsos/RBC Consumer Outlook Index: April 2012

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 09:00:30 GMT

Washington, DC - American consumer confidence is down slightly (0.9 points) to stand at 46.6. Most of the decline is driven by weaker numbers in employment confidence. It is not uncommon for the index to report a small lull after a major gain as consumer re-calibrate to the new conditions. Outside of the employment questions, overall confidence continues to show incremental gains.

Most (71%) Canadians Agree that Charities Play an Important Role in Society Addressing Needs Not Being Met by the Public or Private Sector

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 10:00:30 GMT

Toronto, ON – Most (71%) Canadians ‘agree’ (25% strongly/47% somewhat) that ‘charities play an important role in society as a change agent to address needs not being met by government or the private sector’, according to a new Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. In fact, just one in ten (10%) ‘disagree’ 93% strongly/7% somewhat) with this premise, while 19% neither agree nor disagree. In contrast, just 13% ‘agree’ (3% strongly/10% somewhat) that ‘charities do not make much difference’, while most (71%) ‘disagree’ (34% strongly/37% somewhat) that they don’t make a difference.

Home Sweet Home: Majority of Canadians Would Rather Renovate (83%) than Sell (17%) if their House Needed Major Repairs

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 06:00:30 GMT

Toronto, ON – If their house needed major repairs and they were faced with the decision to either renovate or sell their home, the vast majority (83%) of homeowners in Canada who know what they would do in this situation would elect to renovate their home rather than sell (17%), according to the 19th annual RBC Housing poll conducted by Ipsos Reid. Two in ten (18%) are unsure of the decision they would take in this instance.