Can the Moncton area succeed in attracting new immigrants to Canada? Perhaps we can learn from a recent Genworth Financial Canada Publication - "The Homeownership Experiences and Expectations of New Immigrants to Canada".

Although the methodology involved talking to Canadian immigrants in much larger centers than ours, surely some of the key findings will assist in our strategies to attract some of the new immigrants to Canada.

Some key findings make perfect sense:

• Neighbourhood safety, location and price are the three most important housing factors. Most of us believe the metro Moncton area is safe and has something to offer everyone in the way of location. And I can confirm the Moncton area has some of the lowest housing prices in Canada.
  
• Least important factor is whether local residents share same ethnic background. Because we don't have much in the way of established ethnic communities this is important for us to know.
  
• The most compelling reason for new immigrants to buy a home is its investment potential, followed by having or planning to have children.
  
• 45 per cent of new immigrants indicated that finding information about financing a home in a language they easily understand is important or somewhat important.
  
• More than half of new immigrants purchase a home within three years. This demonstrates the importance new immigrants place on our Canadian dream of home ownership.

Find Genworth's "Recent Immigrant's Guide to Homebuying" on www.genworth.ca, available in Chinese, English, Farsi, French, Korean, Punjabi and Spanish.

Find local pictures and information about Moncton on www.localism.com