Canadians cautious over 'dramatic drop'

The number of Canadians intending to buy a home is at the lowest level since 2002, according to RBC Royal Bank's annual homeownership survey...

The survey results indicated that overall those who "planned to buy a home" within the next two years has declined five percentage points to 23%. The number "very likely" to buy a home has fallen from 9% in 2007 to 7% in 2008 -- the lowest level since the survey began 15 years ago.

The survey authors suggest there are signs of a slowdown in the housing market as the number of Canadians who would "buy now" rather than waiting until next year fell from 58% in 2007 to 52% in 2008.

Catherine Adams, vice-president of Home Equity Financing at RBC Royal Bank, commented: "I'm not surprised by the results. We've had a really long, strong real estate market and this is not a dramatic drop. It's really just saying things are starting to cool down. People are ... being a bit more cautious. Overall, I think it's a healthy economy, it's a very healthy real estate market, very healthy mortgage lending practices within Canada".