Confidence remains steady but Canadians concerned over finances

Canadians are losing confidence in the strength of their personal finances and real estate prices.

The latest Bloomberg/Nanos Canadian Confidence Index shows that, while the overall measure remains steady, the levels of positivity for personal finances including mortgages and rising home prices, have weakened.

“Perceptions that Canadians have of their personal finances and the future strength of the Canadian economy remain net negative,” said Nanos Research Group Chairman Nik Nanos.

The overall index was at 56.35, slightly down from a week earlier but rougly midway between the peak and trough for 2016.

Positivity on personal finances was down to 13.84 per cent (from 13.95) expecting improvement in 6 months while those expecting real estate prices to be higher was down to 38.59 per cent (from 39.03).

“In the midst of downgrades to the outlook for the economy, any pickups in consumer confidence appear to be limited to lower-income/younger households, who are most likely responding to direct government subsidies, and to higher-income/older households, whose portfolios are most likely benefiting from the 25 per cent increase in the stock market since January”, said Bloomberg economist Robert Lawrie.
 

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