Greater Vancouver residents are more likely than their counterparts in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Halifax to buy a condominium as their principal residence, according to an Ipsos Reid survey conducted on behalf of TD Bank.
Roughly 50% of Vancouver respondents to an online poll said they would likely consider buying a condo. That compares with the five-city average of 38%.
Montrealers were the least likely to buy a condo (27%).
Because of the Lower Mainland's expensive real estate, Vancouverites (36%) cited cost as the main reason they would consider buying a condo as their principal residence.
February 2007 statistics released by the Canadian Real Estate Association noted that Vancouver, with the average resale price of an area home at $531,688, had the most expensive housing in Canada.
A recent study of the condominium market showed the average price of a Vancouver condo in 2006 was $289,344.
About a quarter of poll respondents said they preferred a condo because it involved less maintenance. One in five said they would consider buying a condo when they retired to downsize from a house.
But poll respondents pointed out that condos have numerous, including lack of parking and insufficient security.