Scotiabank welcomes Canadian immigration
July 27 2009 by Mark Johnstone
Property for Canada visa holders
A report from Scotia Economics, a division of Canadian banking giant, Scotiabank, has found that the number of immigrants moving to Canada and owning their own homes is growing faster than the number of Canadians owning their own homes.
According to census information from 2006, 72 per cent of immigrants lived in a home owned by a member of the household, up from 68 per cent five years earlier. However, over the same period, the percentage rise in the number of Canadians living in homes owned by a member of the household increased by just 2 per cent from 73 per cent to 75 per cent.
The bank says it expects this trend in the housing market to have continued despite the recession and to continue into the future.
Adrienne Warren, senior economist at Scotiabank, said that immigration was essential to the growth of the housing market in Canada. “Given Canada's aging population and relatively low fertility rates, longer-term household formation and housing needs will be largely determined by immigration," she said.
Ten years from now, Warren predicts that 75 per cent of population growth in Canada will be accounted for by foreigners moving to Canada, up from the current levels of 60-65 per cent. She adds that in 30 years time, all growth will come from immigration and those holding a valid Canada visa.
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