Beware sales pitch behind banks’ advice
Remember that banks are not your friends, they want you money.
Thursday, April 07, 2011
Whatever your branch recommends, do your homework. Remember that banks are essentially sales operationsROB CARRICK
Friendly faces in a depersonalized, online world – that’s your local bank branch for you.
Branch staff are glad to talk about your financial situation, be it debt, saving or investing. They’re also eager to sell you stuff, so it’s important to know how to talk to bankers before you go in.
Online banking is flourishing in Canada, as well it should because it’s cheap and convenient. But there’s a back-to-the-branches theme to a lot of what the big banks are doing today. There are now 300 TD Canada Trust branches open Sunday. Bank of Montreal is installing free coin-counting machines in its branches to draw people in. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce has just begun a marketing campaign that talks up CIBC as the place to go for financial advice.
Bank branches today are much less places to cash cheques and pay bills than they are sales centres for mutual funds, mortgages and lines of credit. Just recently, CIBC said consumer lending is the main driver of its growth plans.
One way to lend more is to attract new clients, something CIBC is trying to do through its Switch campaign. The basic idea is for people who deal with other banks to come over to CIBC for what it described in a news release as “expertise, advice and innovation.”
This represents a new phase in bank strategy. It’s no longer “come into our branches for advice,” but “our branches give better advice than their branches.”
I asked people in my Facebook community (http://on.fb.me/fvo80W) how much they rely on banks for advice and the response was on the whole quite anti-bank. But there’s a point here that may have been missed. People are becoming increasingly aware that they need to cut debt and save more, but lots don’t know how to do it. Banks can help.
Go get that help if you need it, but don’t go in uninformed.
First, you have to understand that banks are essentially sales operations. We have lifelong relationships with our banks, we share private details with them and we sometimes depend on them in moments of stress or hardship. But banks place service to clients in the context of generating revenue and profit for shareholders.
You may hear the word adviser used in the branch, but that’s just a euphemism for salesperson in most cases. Some branches now include people with serious financial planning credentials such as Certified Financial Planner (CFP) or Personal Financial Planner (PFP), but even they’re subject to work rules that suggest it’s all about the sale, not the advice.
Beware of bank products that are highly packaged rather than straightforward. Wrap products are a great example. The banks are selling these prefab bundles of mutual funds like crazy today and it’s not because they’re better than building your own portfolio by selecting individual funds. Rather, it’s because wraps often result in a higher-fee mix of funds than having a customer choose funds individually.
Bank mutual fund families include some top-notch products, so don’t dismiss them. But be wary if you notice a conversation with your banker turning into a sales pitch to buy in-house funds. Be aware that you can open up an account with your bank’s online brokerage division and buy any company’s mutual funds, as well as lower-cost exchange-traded funds, stocks, bonds and term deposits with higher rates from other banks.
Whatever your bank recommends you buy or do, ask for hard numbers to document any advantage to you. Then, ask to have the same analysis applied to alternative approaches. When you’re done talking, go home and do your own research. Be sure the rates your bank is offering for both savings and borrowing are competitive.
Why see a bank at all for help with financial matters? One reason, frankly, is that going to a bank for advice is better than living in a state of uncertainty and inaction. Yes, it would be ideal if everyone who wanted advice used an independent financial planner or investment adviser, but that’s just not happening. If the familiarity of a bank branch makes someone comfortable enough to ask for help, so be it.
It’s also worth noting that the best way for banks to sell products is to keep customers and build relationships. Self-interested sales pitches disguised as advice are relationship killers.
***
TALKING TO BANKS
Tips for those seeking financial help from their bank:
1. Receiving advice of any sort does not mean you have to settle for less than ideal rates on borrowing and saving products.
2. Use the vast resources of the Internet to double-check the rates and advice your bank offers.
3. If it’s all about buying the bank’s mutual funds, flee (unless you specifically came in to buy funds).
4. Get in writing whatever your bank is offering you.
5. Be open-minded enough to recognize that you can get good advice from a banker.
Real estate: A ‘secret’ tax shelter
By Jason Heath
TFSAs have been a welcome addition to the tax shelter landscape in Canada, but they leave something to be desired for those with substantial assets and maxed out RRSP and TFSA room.
Film limited partnerships have disappeared, charitable donation tax shelters were flawed from the start and the investment tax credit for flow-through shares may or may not be extended in the next budget.
Real estate is often overlooked in the quest for tax reduction and deferral, let alone income generation and inflation protection. If real estate is all of these things, why doesn’t everyone own a rental property? The answer is simple – money.
It’s not that investors don’t have the money to get into the rental property market, because this can be easily accomplished with leverage and minimal monthly carrying costs. The problem is there is simply no money to be made by financial professionals when it comes to rental real estate. The result is that rental real estate is a secret tax shelter that few people ever consider.
Investment advisors sell stocks, bonds and mutual funds. Insurance agents sell insurance policies. Accountants sell tax preparation services. Real estate agents sell real estate, but they tend to sell real estate from a vendor to a purchaser to be used solely as a principle residence.
So rental real estate ends up being a golden goose, elusive, yet attractive.
According to Harvard professor Niall Ferguson in The Ascent of Money, “The original property game we know today as Monopoly was actually invented back in 1903 to expose the unfairness of a social system where a small minority of landlords [took advantage of] the majority of tenants.
“What the game of Monopoly tells us, contrary to its inventor’s intentions, is that it’s smart to own property.”
First, a lesson in rental real estate taxation. Rental income is taxable and rental expenses, including mortgage or line of credit interest, are tax-deductible. In many cases, if a property is financed, it will run at a loss for tax purposes creating a tax deduction against all other sources of income and therefore, a tax refund. In the meantime, real estate values grow tax-deferred until an eventual sale. Even if a property runs at positive cash flow for tax purposes, depreciation can be claimed to wipe out some or all of the taxable income inclusion.
Rental real estate has been described by some as the equivalent of a super-charged RRSP. What is a traditional RRSP? It’s a tax-deferred savings vehicle; contributions are tax-deductible; it provides a future income stream; and it’s an investment asset. Rental real estate incorporates all of these features, plus there’s no pre-determined maximum tax deduction limit like with RRSPs; withdrawals aren’t forced at age 71 like with RRIFs; contributions can be financed and the interest can be deducted, unlike RRSP loans; and the taxes paid on selling a rental property are at the 50% capital gains tax rate, unlike RRSP withdrawals which are fully taxable.
The Harvard and Yale endowment funds have more than 50% of their assets invested in non-traditional asset classes, like real estate. The Ontario Teacher’s Pension Plan, the largest single-profession pension plan in Canada, has 18% of their pension assets invested in real estate. Maybe Harvard, Yale and the OTTP know something the mainstream investment community doesn’t know.
Jason Heath is a fee-only Certified Financial Planner (CFP) for E.E.S. Financial Services Ltd. in Markham, Ontario.
Canada in middle of growth spurt, to lead G7 in first half of 2011: OECD
Canada is like the average student in the poor class, not the brilliant student in an average class. But, as Charlie Sheen says, “winning!”
By The Associated Press
OTTAWA – A leading international think-tank says Canada will lead its peers in the G7 in economic growth during the first half of this year. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development says the outlook for economic growth has brightened for all G7 countries, with the exception of Japan .
But the improvement has been most marked in Canada and to a lesser extent the United States.
“The outlook for growth today looks significantly better than it looked a few months back,” OECD chief economist Pier Carlo Padoan said in a statement.
“Growth perspectives are higher all across the OECD area, and the recovery is becoming self-sustained, which means there will be less need for fiscal or monetary policy support.”
Canada is now expected to grow by 5.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2011, and 3.8 per cent in the current second quarter.
Much of that growth has come from the resources sector in Western Canada and continued strength in the housing market in most parts of the country.
Germany is the next strongest economy, with growth rates of 3.7 and 2.3 per cent in the two quarters.
Overall, the Paris-based organization says the G7 economies excluding Japan are set to grow at an annual rate of about three per cent in the first half of 2011, well above the organization’s previous forecast.
The growth estimates given by the OECD are the middle of a range, meaning the rates could be slightly lower or higher.
The new forecasts exclude Japan because of the uncertainty over the full cost of damage from last month’s earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.
The Canadian economy began the year with an impressive 0.5 per cent expansion in January that has set the stage for the strongest quarter in a year, according to Statistics Canada.
The performance was in line with market projections, but still was a mild surprise because many economists had worried of a possible payback after December’s equally robust 0.5 per cent gain in gross domestic product.
The strong back-to-back months put the economy on pace to grow by as much as 4.5 per cent in the first three months of the year, analysts have said. That’s two whole points more than the Bank of Canada’s now-dated estimate. At that growth rate, the pace of job creation should be high enough to continue pushing down the national unemployment rate, currently 7.8 per cent.
In the last year, the Canadian economy has created 322,000 jobs and has rebounded nicely from the 2008-2009 recession that battered the country’s manufacturing sector.
In some sectors of the economy, price pressures have been building, raising the prospect of higher interest rates down the road to fight inflationary pressures.
The next scheduled announcement on interest rates from the Bank of Canada is April 12, although the central bank isn’t expected to change its policy rate at that time from the current one per cent. Another announcement is scheduled for May 31, after the federal election.
Most economists believe Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney will leave a hike on the sidelines until July http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/Canada-middle-growth-spurt-capress-340380811.html?x=0
Alberta’s raw materials will fuel small real estate boom
Comment – this is what caused the inital boom – high inter-province relocations to Calgary. Why? Do you know that Ft. Mac has the world’s largest oil reserves that are not government owned!
Kevin Usselman
The world wants what Alberta has an abundance of; namely energy, food, fertilizer and lumber.
Cutting Edge Research President Don Campbell has been tracking Canadian real estate for 19 years and he says the province is in a good position to cash in.
Campbell says vacancy rates are again on the decline while job creation numbers are on the rise.
He says Alberta’s economy is going to act like a magnet in the next 18 to 24 months and people need places to live.
Subsequently, Campbell has a rather bullish economic and housing forecast for the province and for Calgary in particular.
He doesn’t believe Calgarians are going to see another housing boom like the one experienced back in 2006-2007, but thinks sales and prices could rise anywhere from seven to 12 per cent by 2013.
Campbell is also glad to see the city moving forward with major transportation projects like the west leg of the LRT, although he’s disappointed more efforts aren’t being made to address the secondary suite issue.
Experts best at brokering mortgage
Denise Deveau, Postmedia News · Mar. 30, 2011 |
Cheryl Hutton and Aaron Coates always thought getting a mortgage would be a challenge. But within 18 days of visiting a mortgage broker, they were able to close a deal on a new townhouse in Calgary without a hitch.
Now in their early thirties, both have careers in the theatre, something Ms. Hutton says has been a bit of a sticking point with banks. “In our industry we never fit the paperwork guidelines ‘for the banks.’ For some reason, people don’t think we pay our bills.”
Although it was their first home purchase, Ms. Hutton says it was surprising how easy the whole process was once they had someone who could walk them through it. “He sat us down, told us what our options were, showed us that it was possible and explained all the steps we needed to take. If it wasn’t for him, we may not have made the leap.”
Sorting through a mortgage process and negotiating rates can be overwhelming for first-time and seasoned home buyers alike. That’s why people such as Ms. Hutton and Mr. Coates turn to brokers to do the legwork for them.
Yet mortgage brokers will tell you that a good portion of home buyers out there don’t really understand what they do. “Part of the challenge we have in our world is that people aren’t really sure what a mortgage broker is,” says Gary Siegle, regional manager for Invis Inc., a mortgage brokerage firm in Calgary.
Brokers should not be confused with “rovers,” mortgage specialists attached to a specific financial institution who visit customers outside of banking hours, Mr. Siegle explains.
“They only deal with that bank’s product. A broker, however, is an intermediary whose job is to make a match between a lender and a borrower. We represent the individual, not the bank.”
About 30% of mortgages in Canada are done through a broker, according to Perry Quinton, vice-president, marketing, for Investor Education Fund, a Toronto-based non-profit financial information service.
“The reason more people don’t know about them is because the banks are so visible. It’s easy to gravitate to them when you have your savings accounts, credit cards and investments there already,” Ms. Quinton says.
Going for the comfort factor could cost you however, she adds. “A broker has access to different lenders including banks, and can shop rates and features. A half per-cent may not sound like much but that could make a difference of about $20,000 for a $250,000 mortgage amortized over 25 years. Any little bit helps.”
Mr. Siegle confirms that shopping around can deliver significant savings.
“Let’s take today’s average posted rate of 5.44%, and you get a point off that at your bank. So you think you just got a really great deal. But the vast majority of rates we deal with as brokers would be another 30 basis points lower -around 4.14%. And if you look at preferred deals that don’t offer features such as prepayment privileges, it can get as low as 3.89%. That’s another 25 basis points below what’s generally available.”
The reason for that is simple, he says. “We offer wholesale rates, banks offer retail.”
For anyone considering a broker, Ms. Quinton advises people to do a bit of groundwork first if they have the time.
“It helps to educate yourself about options and what you can afford. Look at all your living expenses, including student loans and credit card debt. Chances are you are understating those.”
Another thing to look into is the different types of available mortgages and features, including interest rates, payment frequency, amortization, cash-back programs and the ability to make lump sum payments.
“Knowing these things before you go in can save you a lot of money,” she adds.
Any mortgage broker you choose should always meet the right licensing and education requirements, so be sure to check their registration.
If you’re not completely prepared, however, that shouldn’t be a concern when working with a good mortgage broker, Mr. Siegle says.
“After all, mortgages are pretty much all we do. So even if you come in cold, good brokers will walk you through the process and ask all sorts of questions,” Mr. Siegle notes.
“You just need to be prepared to answer them openly and honestly so they can get you the best deal possible.”
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/Experts+best+brokering+mortgage/4525573/story.html
Calgary ranks third on global prosperity score card
Calgary ranks third on global prosperity score card: Toronto Board of Trade
BY KIM GUTTORMSON, CALGARY HERALD
Calgary is back near the top of a score card that ranks prosperity in a number of cities around the world, besting all other Canadian metros on the list.
Strong population growth, a young workforce, disposable income, affordable housing and clean air helped boost the city to the number three spot on the list behind Paris and San Francisco.
That’s up from last year’s fifth place ranking, but below its first place finish in 2009, the first time the Toronto Board of Trade compiled results, using information from the Conference Board of Canada — including commute time, income equality, gross domestic product and productivity — to compare 24 major cities.
However, Calgary did score low in some key areas, including transportation.
“I think it speaks to Calgary’s more dynamic economy, more dynamic than we had in the ‘80s when it took us years to crawl out of the recession,” Todd Hirsch, senior economist at ATB Financial, said of the city’s post-recession recovery. “What you’d really hate is to be extremely high in some (indicators) and at the bottom on others.
“You’d rather be really good on a number of indicators and get an overall ranking quite high, like Calgary got.”
The Toronto board of Trade said “Calgary’s success comes from a combination of solid fundamentals in both (economy and labour attractiveness), not just from a robust economy. With the fastest population growth of all metros, Calgary proved that it was an attractive place for people seeking work.
“Calgary’s housing affordability and clean air provide further evidence of its livability.”
Elsbeth Mehrer, director of research, workforce and strategy for Calgary Economic Development, says the city’s ranking shows it should be a choice destination for both companies and people.
“To be able to put the city in the context of major global cities like Paris and San Francisco, that’s an important frame around our positioning,” she said. “I think that helps to elevate the conversation to a different level.
“If you’re comparing yourselves with communities of this stature, now it’s a very different conversation in terms of the types of target companies you’re trying to attract, the types of investment.”
On the score card Calgary ranked third overall, and third for being attractive to workers (behind Paris and London).
The ability to attract labour is important, said Chamber of Commerce chief economist Ben Brunnen, because “the labour shortage, labour retention issue is starting to emerge again. Positioning Calgary as a destination for young talent is a fundamental first step for long-term prosperity.”
Calgary placed sixth if only the economy was looked at (behind San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, Dallas and New York).
The Toronto Board of Trade wrote that Calgary overcame “near-bottom rankings on venture capital investment, market size, and IPOs, with first or second-place results on income growth, unemployment rate, residential building permit growth and GDP growth” to get to that sixth spot.
Calgary’s average office rents also put them in the top half of the rankings, in that they’re cheaper than more than 50 per cent of the list.
In the first three months of 2011, according to CB Richard Ellis, Calgary’s office vacancy fell to 12 per cent from 15 per cent compared to the same period a year before. Regional managing director for Alberta Greg Kwong said in a release that given the amount of office space coming onto the Calgary market, the drop is “amazing. This is a testament to how resilient Calgary’s office market has become.”
However, for all the good news, the city rated an overall 13th place in the transportation category.
That factored in an average commute time of 67 minutes, longer than Los Angeles, Chicago and Berlin, but better than Toronto’s 80 minutes, and a score in the bottom half when public transit ridership was evaluated.
“It points out some of the warts, too,” Hirsch said of the score card. “It’s good to be made aware of this is where we rank in global cities when it comes to commute times. A 60-minute commute time is not normal, this not just being part of a big city.
“This is a problem. Who knows where we would be if we could solve some of those transportation problems.”
Calgary also ranked lower in areas that included productivity and venture capital, which Mehrer said are on-going issues the city’s business community knows need work.
“It reaffirms what we know needs to be a focus,” she said.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
Calgary house prices expected to increase
Calgary house prices expected to increase
Local market classified as balanced
CALGARY — Short-term year-over-year price growth is expected to be in the five to seven per cent range for Calgary, according to the Conference Board of Canada.
In releasing its monthly Metro Resale Index on Wednesday, the board said Calgary’s real estate market is currently classified as being under balanced conditions.
In February, the average residential resale price rose to $406,216, up from $401,743 the previous month and $394,850 in February 2010.
The board also said that sales, on a seasonally-adjusted annual basis, were up by 6.1 per cent in Calgary to 23,784 following a 2.2 per cent hike in January to 22,416. But that is still down from 23,820 in February 2010.
“It’s a reasonably balanced market. That’s what we’re seeing,” saids Robin Wiebe, senior economist with the board. “Sales are on the upswing. They rose six per cent in February from January and that builds on a two per cent growth the month before. And that’s starting to eat away at the stock of listings.
“Sales are bouncing back from a bit of a tough spot later in 2010. They’re coming back . . . There seems to be a little bit of momentum building in the Calgary market which is why we are forecasting a decent price outlook.”
The sales to new listings ratio in Calgary increased to 0.558 from 0.547 in January and 0.531 in February 2010.
The board also said that new listings were 46,812 in February on a seasonally-adjusted annual basis compared with 44,748 the previous month and 48,576 a year ago.
“Over the last couple of months, we’ve definitely seen sales pick up,” said Dan Sumner, economist with ATB Financial in Calgary. “I still think all in all sales aren’t really strong. We are seeing kind of a recovery from really low levels.
“In Calgary, it’s been stronger than other areas of the province. The Calgary resale market has been better than most of the rest of Alberta but it’s still nothing to get too excited about.”
Sumner said preliminary data indicates that March “has not been a blockbuster month” for MLS sales in the city.
In its Metro Resale Index, the board classified Saskatoon, Gatineau, Montreal, Quebec, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivieres and Saguenay as having short-term price growth expectations in the seven per cent and higher range.
Victoria, Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Edmonton, Regina, Winnipeg, Halifax and Newfoundland joined Calgary in the five to seven per cent range followed by Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Hamilton, St. Catharines, Kitchener, Kingston, Ottawa, and Saint John in the three to five per cent range.
Toronto, Oshawa, London and Windsor can expect short-term year-over-year price growth of zero to three per cent.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
Lower Canadian Mortgage Rates – should have happened a month ago
Here is some bank-spin b.s. in full display. Bank mortgage rates should have come down 3 weeks or a month ago like the broker rates did. Banks intentionally left their rates higher to keep their profits up. So it is supposed to be a big deal now that the Big 5 banks have a 5 year at 4.09% when we have been at 3.89% for the last month?
Always use a mortgage broker to take care of your interests! And the banks pay us so there are normally no fees to you for our services!
Global instability leads to lower mortgage rates in Canada
Global instability, highlighted by turmoil in Libya and Japan, has caused Canadian banks to drop their mortgage rates.
Just as changes to mortgage rules coming into effect Friday were likely to make borrowing for a new home more difficult, the latest drop in interest rates has helped potential new borrowers in the short term find a more affordable price.
The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), along with the Bank of Montreal, slashed its rates on various fixed rate mortgages. Other lenders are also expected to follow suit.
After heightened confidence led to mortgage rate increases last month, banks are now following the cue of declining bond rates, according to the Globe and Mail.
For the RBC, the country’s largest bank, its residential mortgage special fixed rate was unchanged at 3.2% for one-year closed mortgages, but its four-year special fixed rate for closed mortgages was reduced 0.15% to a rate of 4.19%.
The same rate, 4.19%, now applies to five-year special fixed rate closed mortgages, which are down 0.1%, while 5.1% applies to a seven-year closed special fixed rate, which is down 0.2%.
Prime to be at 4% by 2012
BoC rate to reach two per cent by year end: RBC
By | 11/03/2011 2:00:00 PM | 0 comments
As part of its economic outlook for 2011, RBC projects that the Bank of Canada overnight rate will rise from one per cent to two per cent by year-end.
The gradual pace of rate increases combined with anchored inflation expectations will result in less upward pressure on long-term interest rates, added the Economic Outlook released by RBC Economics.
On the back of solid net exports in the final quarter of 2010, Canada’s economy finished the year on a high note recording stronger than expected gains. The biggest support for the economy came from net exports, which added a full 4.5 percentage points to the quarterly growth rate. Continued consumer spending also played a vital role in driving overall GDP, marking the fastest increase in spending since late 2007.
RBC expects real GDP to increase at 3.2 per cent in 2011, as U.S. demand for Canadian exports increases. Growth in 2012 is forecast to rise by 3.1 per cent.
The report also stated labour market conditions will remain firm in 2011and disposable income is expected to post a 4.1 per cent gain that will provide continued support to consumer spending.
“Consumers’ earlier confidence in taking on increasing amounts of debt was based on a combination of lower interest rates, a strengthening labour market and a 4.6 per cent rise in disposable income,” explained Craig Wright, senior vice-president and chief economist, RBC Wright. “An expected slowing in the housing market, rising interest rates and tightening mortgage lending standards all add up to a levelling out in consumer debt relative to income.”
At the provincial level, RBC forecasts Saskatchewan will lead the country in growth this year. Alberta is expected to return to a top three placing, closely trailing growth in Newfoundland and Labrador. Ontario and Manitoba will hover close to the national average while both Quebec and British Columbia will fall slightly below. Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island are still projected to lag behind at the lower end of the scale for 2011.
TD Canada Trust releases 2011 Home Buyers Report
TORONTO (March 7, 2011) – When homebuyers browse the listings and hit the open houses this spring, will they be looking for brand-new homes that won’t need any work or fixer-uppers that they can renovate to suit their taste? According to the 2011 TD Canada Trust Home Buyers Report, Canadians are divided with men and women sitting on opposite sides of the fence.
Half of Canadians would prefer a new home because everything will work perfectly (25%) and it hasn’t been lived in before (24%), while the other half prefer older homes, which they feel offer better quality (34%) or have more character (17%). The TD Canada Trust Home Buyers Report found that men are more likely than women to prefer a fixer-upper because it is more affordable (14% versus 8%) and because they can renovate to their taste (37% versus 29%).
“If you are willing to do the renovations or upgrades, buying a home that needs some work can give you the ability to transform the space into your dream home,” says Farhaneh Haque, Regional Manager, Mobile Mortgage Specialists, TD Canada Trust. “However, if you decide to go the renovation route, it’s important to understand the costs of the upgrades you intend to make and factor those in when deciding on the price range for a home that is realistic for you.”
The most important factors in deciding what home to buy:
Whether it’s brand new or older with charm, Canadians say the most important consideration when buying a home is cost (97%). Women are more likely to say this is a very important consideration (82% versus 70% of men). Other important factors are features of the home (94%), size (93%), security and safety (92%) and location (91%).
“When house-hunting there are some factors, like the features of the home, which can be adjusted once you’ve made your purchase. Other factors, like the location, cannot be changed. Finding the right home is about getting the right balance – and at a price you can afford,” says Haque. “Canadians wisely say that that cost is the number one consideration for a home purchase, evidence that Canadians realize that in order to truly be comfortable in their home, they need to comfortably be able to afford it!”
About the Home Buyers Report:
TD Canada Trust commissioned Environics Research Group to conduct a custom online survey of Canadians who had either purchased a home within the last two years or intend to purchase one in the next two years. Between December 22 – 29, 2010, a total of 1,001 interviews were completed.