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.

In the ten major Canadian centres surveyed, six per cent of households intend to buy a primary residence in 2008, down slightly from seven per cent that actually purchased in 2007. The percentage of these households who intend to buy is the highest in Calgary at eight per cent, while the percentage of households who intend to buy was the lowest in Québec at four per cent.

The gap between the proportion of renters and owners intending to purchase a home in 2008 has narrowed compared to intentions reported in 2007. The majority of purchase intenders (53 per cent) are renter households compared to 60 per cent in 2007. In Montreal, close to two-thirds of households intending to purchase a home currently rent, while in Vancouver only 44 per cent of purchase intenders are renter households.

In five of the ten markets surveyed, households were asked more detailed questions regarding their purchasing intentions. Thus, the remainder of purchase intention results cover only the five centres listed: Halifax, Montréal,  Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver.

A larger share of households intend to buy single-detached homes and the majority intend to purchase a larger residence Among households who intend to buy a home in 2008, the largest share plan to buy a single-detached home (55 per cent). Also, a majority of intenders (67 per cent) plan to buy an existing home.

Just over a quarter of households who intend to purchase a home plan to purchase a condominium unit. Of those who intend to purchase a condominium, the majority are between the ages of 18 and 24 years. Vancouver has the largest proportion of condominium purchase intenders at 41 per cent this year.

The majority of households who intend to purchase a home plan to purchase a larger home (57 per cent) compared to their current residence, 20 per cent of households intend to purchase a smaller home, and 20 per cent intend to purchase a similar sized home compared to their current residence.

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).