Real estate investment remains strong in Metro Vancouver despite inflation, cost of living: report.

Despite the pressures of inflation and cost of living, more than half of Metro Vancouver real estate investors say they plan to buy another property in the region, according to a survey for a real estate firm.

The Royal LePage survey, conducted by Leger, found 54 per cent of respondents in Greater Vancouver say they intend to purchase an additional residential investment property within the next five years. Of those, just over half will buy a condo.

In Metro Vancouver, 67 per cent of respondents own one residential investment property, while 29 per cent own two or more, according to the survey.

“The appetite for real estate investment is strong in the Greater Vancouver area. Unlike stocks or other investment types, real estate investing offers the convenience of dual utility — you can live in your home or rent it out as a source of income,” said Adil Dinani, a spokesperson for Royal LePage West Real Estate Services, said in a statement.

“There is a positive association between home ownership and the creation of personal wealth in Vancouver.”

Out of the three major urban centres in Canada, a property’s proximity to a post-secondary institution had the greatest influence on Greater Vancouver investors, at 53 per cent, according to the survey.

While higher borrowing and cost of living pressures have caused some Vancouver investors to rein in spending, many have been able to withstand increased expenses, said Dinani.

“In today’s post-pandemic era, despite higher borrowing costs, I expect more people will enter the investor segment as rates hold and eventually ease. Buyers will be looking for opportunities in the market,” said Dinani.

According to the survey, 28 per cent of investors in Greater Vancouver say that increased interest rates have caused them to consider selling one or more of their investment properties. When asked about their plans for the future, 28 per cent of investors in the region say they are likely to sell one or more of their investment properties within the next two years.

Leger says the online survey of 1,003 adult Canadians, who own one or more residential investment properties, was completed between March 2 and March 17 using Leger’s online panel. The company says no margin of error can be associated with a non-probability sample from a web panel.

The Leger poll comes as another survey Thursday by Co-operators, a Canadian financial services provider, found only 31 per cent of British Columbians aged 18 to 44 are confident in their ability to choose investment opportunities that will make money. In that survey, 40 per cent say that recent stock market fluctuations have made them hesitant to invest.

Earlier this week, Statistics Canada reported that investors made up almost 10 per cent of homeowners in B.C. in 2020.

The figures show B.C.’s share of investor-occupants, who own a single property with several units, including their primary residence, sat at 9.6 per cent that year, much higher than in other provinces.

For example, investor-occupants made up 2.5 per cent of New Brunswick’s homeowners, 1.8 per cent in Nova Scotia, 0.8 per cent in Ontario and 0.7 per cent in Manitoba, while other provinces weren’t part of the study.

StatCan attributed the high numbers of investor-occupants in B.C. to incremental forms of density, such as single-detached houses with secondary suites or laneway units, duplexes or triplexes.

Source