Hi folks,

Here is some excellent information from the Canadian Real Estate Associations website - 30 million x 16% you figure the numbers!!!

"Canadians consider investment properties
More than 16 per cent plan to buy within next two years

Recent gains in average price are attracting a growing number of investors to major markets across the country. A report recently released by RE/MAX found that one in six Canadians plans to buy an investment property in the next 12 to 24 months.

Based on on-line interviews conducted in December 2005 with 1,200 homeowners across Canada, the report highlights developing interest in residential real estate as an investment. Close to 30 per cent of respondents already owned one or more investment properties and about 18 per cent indicated that real estate represented more than 51 per cent of their total investment portfolio.

“We believe purchasers view residential real estate as a simple, sound and safe investment – something that is very familiar to them,” says Michael Polzler, Executive Vice President, Regional Director, RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada. “The risk factor is greatly reduced compared to other financial vehicles.”

The RE/MAX report also found that investors were younger than anticipated. Forty-three per cent of those who intended to invest in the next two years were under the age of 40. Once tagged “Generation X,” these individuals supposedly rejected more traditional values like owning a home.

“Certainly, the promise of continued upward trending in housing values is a major factor influencing these investors, particularly in British Columbia and Alberta,” says Elton Ash, Regional Vice President, RE/MAX of Western Canada. “Over the past five years, residential prices have appreciated close to 10 per cent on average, nationally. That's a fairly impressive return on investment.”

In recognition of residential real estate's potential for long-term growth, 50 per cent of investors indicated they plan to hold their properties for 10 or more years. If an investor were to realize a tidy profit in the interim, however, he or she may be inclined to move on to the next income property, adds Ash."