Housing not attractive investment

Canadian investors are viewing housing as a less attractive investment over the last year. That’s according to the latest sentiment index published by Manulife Financial which shows a drop in overall investor confidence of 3 points to 16, the lowest since the financial crisis (when it was at 11). BC and Ontario saw the biggest falls in sentiment and there was also decline in the prioritization of Canadians to invest in their own homes in the near future.

On interest rates, almost half (48 per cent) of Canadians believe they will stay the same for the next 12 months and 77 per cent say interest rates will not have an impact on their investment strategy.

“The Bank of Canada has been suggesting that interest rates are on hold or may even fall further over the coming year,” said senior economist Frances Donald. “Yet, interestingly, 40 per cent of Canadian investors still expect interest rates to rise, highlighting the ongoing uncertainty around the interest rate outlook.”

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