Buying a home a most wise investment, Ontarians agree
More than 8 in 10 Ontarians say that because home values are rising, purchasing a house or condominium is a good investment, based on a new survey conducted by RBC.
Roughly 25% of Canadians said that they intend to buy a residence in the not-too-distant future.
The question is “when?” Half said that they believed the present residential real estate climate makes it ideal to buy now before mortgage rates go up. However, the RBC poll also discovered about 49 percent will stay on the sidelines for 12 months, hoping that rates may decline further.
“The survey results emphasize the importance of speaking to a mortgage specialist for personalized advice on the best path towards homeownership, especially for first time home buyers entering the market,” says Trisha Fineza Forbes, RBC senior manager.
45 percent buying in next two years for first time
It’s these first-timers that are accounting for an ever increasing amount of prospective home buyers, the poll found. Among Canadians intending to make an offer on a house during the next two years, nearly 45 percent said this is the first time they’ve ever owned a property, the RBC poll discovered. In 2014, 40 percent indicated this was their maiden voyage with homeownership. And among Ontarians, 50 percent of respondents said that this will be their first time putting money down on a residence.
The ideal residential market climate is one that’s balanced, where there is roughly an equivalent amount of people buying as they are selling. Nearly 4 in 10 Ontarians – 38 percent – believe that the housing market is in this state of stasis, the RBC poll revealed. Meanwhile, 36 percent said it was a seller’s market – compared to 28 percent among all Canadians – and 26 percent thought it was a buyer’s market. Approximately 36 percent of Canadians from other provinces considered it to be a market that was most favorable to buyers.
Over 620,000 homes sold to first-time buyers in past two years
First-time buyers have represented a sizeable chunk of the residential buying market for the last two years and more, according to polling data from the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals. Of the 620,000 homes sold in the last 27 months, 620,000 were bought by first-timers, CAAMP reported.
Fresh out of college, many don’t have the funds needed to put money down on a house, opting to rent for a short period in order to accrue credit and save for a down payment. This may explain why most first-time buyers are between 25 and 34 years of age, according to CAAMP’s consumer survey report. However, even with more earnings under their belts, nearly 1 in 5 first-time buyers turn to their parents for help with coming up the amount of money needed to pay for a home’s down payment. The majority, though, use their own personal savings, or that of the individual they’re co-signing with.