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MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - March 1, 2011) - The results of the Clearfacts.ca* survey conducted by the polling firm CROP on savings and investment are telling. Quebecers favour buying a home over paying rent, which 73% feel is like "throwing money out the window."

Not surprisingly, less than one in five Quebec residents (17%) think that "buying a home is not worthwhile" from a financial standpoint. This feeling is most shared among Quebecers aged 55 or over (20%) and those with lower incomes (24% of respondents with a household income under $40,000).

Surprisingly, only 44% of Quebecers overall indicated they were prepared to spend more on mortgage payments. The respondents most prepared to spend more on buying a home than on rent were younger Quebecers (55% of those aged 18-34), higher income earners (50% of those earning more than $80,000) and families with children (49%).

In a surprising finding, Quebecers said they were prepared to pay a maximum of $693 per month in rent, with averages of $788 in the Outaouais, $751 in Montreal, $735 in Quebec City, $628 in the Eastern Townships, $621 in the Saguenay, and $585 in Mauricie), while the maximum they would be prepared to pay in monthly mortgage payments was only $774 (on $914 in the Outaouais, $849 in Montreal, $840 in Quebec City, $683 in the Eastern Townships, $640 in the Saguenay and $623 in Mauricie), representing a difference of only $81 on average.

To find out more about Quebecers' housing preferences, view the second component of the Clearfacts.ca/CROP poll in "Quebecers reluctant to pay more for a mortgage" at [ www.clearfacts.ca ].

*Methodology: Data were collected online from December 3 to 23, 2010 by web panels. In all, 1,814 questionnaires were completed. The results were weighted to reflect the distribution of Quebec's adult population by sex, age, region, language (in the Montreal area) and household size. Given the non-probability online sampling, the margin of error calculation does not apply.

About clearfacts.ca

Clearfacts.ca is an initiative of National Bank Financial Group. Its primary goal is to contribute to the financial education of Canadians. The site does not have any commercial intentions and the content presented is always neutral and credible. The role of clearfacts.ca is to help its readers make enlightened decisions that will contribute to their financial health.

About National Bank of Canada

National Bank of Canada is an integrated group that provides comprehensive financial services to consumers, small and medium-sized enterprises and large corporations in its core market, while offering specialized services to its clients elsewhere in the world. National Bank offers a full array of banking services, including retail, corporate and investment banking. It is an active player on international capital markets and, through its subsidiaries, is involved in securities brokerage, insurance and wealth management as well as mutual fund and retirement plan management. National Bank has over $152 billion in assets and, together with its subsidiaries, employs 18,407 people. The Bank's securities are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:NA). For more information, visit the Bank's website at [ www.nbc.ca ]. To access National Bank Financial Group's financial education portal, visit [ www.clearfacts.ca ].

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