Consumers have become especially concerned about a post-stimulus environment
While Canadians’ outlook towards the economy and the housing sector remains positive, the optimism has somewhat waned recently, with a major driver being fears of federal financial support winding down in the upcoming months.
“After a record breaking run in positive consumer confidence, sentiment in Canada has slid for the last four weeks in succession,” said Nik Nanos, chief data scientist at Nanos Research. “This may be a manifestation of a new negative consumer confidence trend as Canadians start thinking about the future and a post-stimulus environment.”
The Bloomberg-Nanos Consumer Confidence Index during the week ending July 30 registered at 64.52, compared to the 66.42 four weeks prior and the 12-month high of 66.42.
When asked if the value of homes in their neighbourhood will increase in the coming six months, more than half (55.01%) of Canadians agreed, while 31.42% said that they are expecting prices to remain flat. On the other hand, 9.73% indicated a belief that housing prices will decline.
Read more: BoC on the growing presence of indebted borrowers
As for sentiments towards the economy, 44.17% of respondents said that they are expecting it to become stronger in the next half-year, while 25.27% are bracing themselves for a weaker economy. Another 24.36% said that they are not anticipating any major fluctuations.
When asked about their job security over the past year, 53.02% said that they feel secure, and 18.31% are at least somewhat secure. Meanwhile, around 4.06% are somewhat not secure, and 6.78% do not feel secure.
On the topic of personal finances, 24.81% said that they were better off in the last 12 months, while 23.56% said that they were worse off. However, over half (50.67%) said that their financial situation was essentially stagnant over the past year.
