One-third of older Canadians who are 55 or older have at least 16 or more years left on their mortgage term, according to a poll from Royal Bank of Canada.
The poll also found that nearly three-quarters of Canadians with a mortgage hope to be mortgage-free by the time they reach age 65.
Among Canadian homeowners, the number of mortgage-free Canadians has increased slightly to 41% in the fourth quarter from 38% in the first quarter, and the highest level since 2006.
Looking ahead, the majority of Canadians expect steady interest rates in the next six to 12 months. Almost one-in-five Canadians expect rates will rise less than one per cent. Just over a quarter of respondents think interest rates will rise more than one per cent in the same time period.
With a firm belief that interest rates will stay relatively stable over the next year, the RBC poll shows Canadians are increasingly interested in using either a variable (29%, compared to 19% in the first quarter of this year) or fixed rate mortgage (46%, compared to 40% in the first quarter of this year).
Interest in using a hybrid mortgage (part fixed, part variable) has declined (25%, compared to 41% in the first quarter of this year).
The RBC Housing Snapshot poll conducted was by Ipsos Reid between from October 6-14, 2011.