Poll asks what women want in home

Women who have purchased a home say financial security, a backyard or garden and a quiet and private space to themselves are the best things about home ownership, according to a TD Canada Trust poll. Forty-three per cent of women say financial security is the best thing about home ownership, followed by having a backyard or garden (35 per cent) and having a quiet, private space to themselves (34 per cent).

The poll, which reveals behaviours and attitudes of Canadian women who have independently purchased a home, shows that the most important factor impacting the decision to buy is cost (98 per cent), with neighbourhood and location (97 per cent) and security and safety (96 per cent) close behind. Proximity to work (72 per cent) and to family (65 per cent) is lower on the list of factors impacting home purchase.

“The 2009 poll results show that women continue to see a home as an important part of their financial security,” says Joan Dal Bianco, vice-president, real estate secured lending, TD Canada Trust. “And since the poll shows that cost is the number one deciding factor, the lower housing prices and attractive mortgage rates we are experiencing mean this is a great time for women who have been planning to purchase a home to get into the market.”

What do women like least about home ownership? Forty-three per cent say the cost of maintenance and repairs and 42 per cent say the actual maintenance is a nuisance. Third on the list of dislikes is yard work and snow removal (28 per cent).

Two-thirds of Canadian women polled purchased their first home more than 10 years ago and 41 per cent of the women surveyed are still living in their first home.

Women of all ages purchase homes independently, with 37 per cent purchasing their first home on their own between the ages of 18 to 29, 30 per cent between 30 to 39 and 33 per cent over 40 or over.

When asked if they would be more or less likely to buy a home now due to the current economy, the majority of women (64 per cent) said that the economy had no impact on their decision to either not buy or buy a home right now while 26 per cent of women said they would be less likely and 10 per cent said they would be more likely to buy a home now due to the current economy.