Canadian Funding Corp. Reviews CMHC Statistics

Buyers between 25 and 44 years of age make up the lion’s share (59 per cent) of households that intend to buy a home in 2008. More than one in five households that intend to buy are between 45 and 54 years of age, while the same proportion are over 54 and below 25 years of age.

Likewise, the majority of renter households that intend to buy are between 25 and 44 years of age (46 per cent).

A large share of intenders will be repeat buyers

More than half (57 per cent) of purchase intenders will be repeat buyers. Indeed, buying intenders’ main motivation for purchasing a residence was the need for a larger/better residence (33 per cent). The second most popular response was to change from renting/build equity or to have a residence of their own (26 per cent).

The majority of purchase intenders that are first time buyers are between the ages of 25 and 34, with a household income between $40,000 to just under $60,000. As for repeat buyers who intend to purchase a home in 2008, the majority are between the ages of 35 and 44, with a household income over $100,000.

Close to half of intenders will plan to make a down payment of more than 20 per cent Close to half of households that intend to buy a home are planning to make a down payment of more than 20 per cent of the expected value of their purchase. The main source of down payment funds are household savings for 40 per cent of potential home buyers, while equity from the present/previous residence is also a popular option with 30 per cent.

The Canadian Funding Corporation reports on the profile of purchasers of homes in Canada.

Across the five centres surveyed, 40 per cent of purchasers who bought a primary residence in 2007 were between 18 and 34 years of age with 23 per cent falling between the ages of 18 and 24 (up from 18 per cent in 2006) and 17 per cent between the ages of 25 and 34 (up from 15 per cent in 2006).

According to Moishe Alexander, more than 40 per cent of households who purchased a residence in 2007, were first time buyers, the same proportion as 2006.

For those who previously owned a home, the majority of households (74 per cent) purchased a home worth more than their previous residence while 13 per cent purchased a lower priced home. As well, the majority (62 per cent) of those who previously owned a home upgraded to a larger home compared to their previous one while 20 per cent downsized.

This move-up corresponds with the large proportion of households (33 per cent) who stated that they needed a larger residence as their main motivation for moving. A smaller proportion of respondents in 2007 (16 per cent) compared to 2006 (24 per cent) wanted a change from renting and to have an opportunity to build some equity.

Household Purchasers in 2007 – Seven Percent of Households Purchased a Home in 2007

Across the ten major centres surveyed seven per cent of all households in those centres indicated they bought a home last year, up from 6 per cent reported in 2006. The largest share of homebuyers was in Edmonton, Calgary, and St. John’s where 10 per cent of households purchased a primary residence in 2007. On the other hand, five per cent of households in Montréal bought a primary residence last year, an increase from four per cent in 2006.

In five of the ten markets surveyed, households were asked further questions regarding home purchases last year.

Thus, the remainder of household purchaser results cover only the five centres listed: Halifax, Montréal, Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver.

The majority of homebuyers opted for existing homes

Seven out of ten households that bought a home in 2007 opted for an existing home. On the other hand, 27 per cent of respondents purchased a newly built home, an increase from 23 per cent of respondents in 2006. More than half the households purchased a single-detached residence in 2007. The remaining homebuyers were split equally between purchasing semi-detached, row/townhouse, and apartment dwellings in 2007.

Condominiums are a popular choice amongst households between the ages of 55 and 64 years

The condominium lifestyle remains a popular choice amongst home purchasers, especially with households between 55 and 64 years of age. Over a quarter of respondents surveyed bought a condominium last year. The majority of home purchasers between the age of 55 to 64 bought a condominium last year. The share of households aged 65 and older that purchased a condo fell from 60 per cent in 2006 to 38 per cent in 2007.

Across the five centres, the largest share of households purchasing a condominium, was in Vancouver at 46 per cent.

Only 12 per cent of households in Halifax purchased a condominium last year.

Equity from sale of a home and savings were main source of down payment

As for how households paid for their new home last year, 40 per cent used the equity from their present/previous residence as their main source of down payment, while 30 per cent used some form of savings (this excludes RRSP and investments).

The Canadian Funding Corporation says that a profile of renovation intenders across the five major centres shows that the majority of intenders are between the ages of 25 to 44, while those who are 65 and over have the lowest intentions to renovate this year at 25 per cent.

Renovation intentions are highest among owners of older homes. Fifty-one per cent of households living in homes built before 1920 intend to renovate in 2008.

In fact, households living in homes built prior to 1945 had the highest incidence of actual renovations in 2007, with 48 per cent of households renovating. Of those who intend to renovate in 2008, the older the home the higher the proportion of households performing maintenance and repairs. On the other hand, the younger the home the higher the proportion of households performing alterations and improvements.

A large portion of households intend to renovate so as to update, add value, or prepare to sell their home, according to CFC CEO, Moishe Alexander.

Across the five major centres, 67 per cent of households who intend to renovate this year, will do so to update, add value, or prepare to sell their home.

Twenty-one per cent of households intend to renovate this year because their dwelling needs repairs, while 19 per cent say that it needs maintenance.

Renovation intenders in Toronto plan to spend the most on renovations

When asked what the household expected to spend on their renovations, the average estimate across the five centres was $12,880. Households in Toronto expected to pay the most on average ($14,920), while households in Halifax expected to pay the least on average ($8,200).

Spending intentions on renovations were, on average, underestimated, in 2007 by $1,000. Households surveyed in 2007 expected to spend an average of $11,270, while in actuality spent an average of over $12,800 on renovations for 2007.

Toronto homeowners underestimated their renovations, on average, by over $4,000, while those in Vancouver were off by only $800.