According to a new Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) study, it shows that a majority of Canadian renovators (63%) plan to take advantage of the federal governments’ home renovation tax credit this year, and 47% has already done more renovations because of the tax break.
This survey was conducted by Ipsos Reid, and found that 76% of Canadians who are planning to renovate will be payinf for most or all of the renovation with cash or savings. Comparing 2008, you will find that 70% are signalling a shift in the way Canadians view home improvement financing.
24% of renovators plan on using a credit card to finance their renovations this year, compared to 32% in 2008.
More homeowners have completed renovation projects as a result of the tax credit, however the RBC Renovation study found that fewer Canadian homeowners, 66% intend to renovate over the next two years, whereas this figure was 70% in 2008.
Intentions to renovate might be down 4%, potential renovators are anticipating to spend more on their renovations with average amounts moving steadily to $11,272 in 2009.
64% of homeowners today are renovating their home to make it more attractive, while 18% are doing so to make their home sell easier.
35% of renovators plan to focus on upgrades only including exterior renovations (67%), general renovations, such as painting and flooring (64%), bathrooms (41%) and kitchen (36%).
The biggest renovation problem homeowners are complaining about are going over budget; this figure is 30% while almost one third has said the time to complete the renovations was much worse than expecting.
When renovating you need to prepare in advance by preparing a realistic budget and flexible financing options.
Heleen Jacobsen
Broker of Record with InfoMarket Group GMAC Real Estate
www.infomarketgroup.com
