For the first time since the pandemic’s start, Canadians are experiencing a shift in the real estate market they’ve come to know. There were record-setting sales across the country in 2020 and 2021, with extreme demand from buyers and a low supply of homes for sale. In turn, we saw Canada’s housing market and home prices across the country reach unprecedented highs.

Deciding to buy a home is a big deal, and there are a lot of unknowns to tackle. For instance, when they purchase a property, who do they hire? How many homes do they view before putting in an offer? What was the non-negotiable feature they needed in their home?

After all, we all want to know whether we’re doing the same things as everyone else — or if we’re missing a key step or bit of information to help us make a better decision regarding the biggest purchase of our lives. So we asked 800 Canadians how, when, where and why they bought their homes in 2022, and we’re sharing all of the juicy details. 

The trend in Canada’s housing market throughout 2022 can be boiled down to increased borrowing costs and a long overdue shift from a seller’s market to a more balanced market. And we’ll talk more about the 2022 market later in this piece. But, knowing this, how did buyers make decisions and buy homes — and what does this mean for you?

Key Findings

• 55% of Canadians create a budget before they buy a home
• 50% of Canadians save their down payment in their TFSA
• 47% of Canadians receive money from family and/or an inheritance to boost their down payment
• Only 36% of home buyers hire a home inspector
• 49% of Gen Z browses for properties on Instagram
• 80% of Canadians negotiate their home price

Canadians Could Use a Bit More Prep in Their Home Buying Step

Typically, preparation is one of the first steps to buying a home. When you plan to buy a home, you usually require a deep understanding of your financial situation and a team of experts to help you throughout your home-buying journey. Let’s look at how most Canadians prepare to buy homes financially and otherwise.

Majority of Canadians Create a Budget Before They Buy a Home

One of the first steps you need to take to know how much home you can afford is to look at your income, spending habits and debt load. For one thing, this helps a home buyer grasp the reality of the cost of homeownership, but having this information at your fingertips will make it easier to qualify for home financing when the time comes.

Thankfully, 55% of Canadians create a budget before they buy a home. However, there is room for improvement when it comes to everything related to money and homeownership. For example, only 25% of Canadians shopped around for their mortgage rate. Getting multiple quotes on a mortgage rate is one of the key ways to ensure you get the best deal, which directly translates to how much you’ll spend each month repaying your loan. Our advice? Don’t sleep on a good comparison shop. 

Mortgage expert and author Angela Calla agrees. “Not shopping around for a mortgage is the costliest mistake anybody can possibly make,” She says that every lender has their own bias to sell a product. An independent mortgage broker uses one application to protect the applicants’ credit. Mortgage brokers aren’t directly employed by lenders, which allows them to shop your application to banks, credit unions and trust companies that consumers couldn’t access on their own. “Doing it on your own hurts your credit, limits your options, and doesn’t point out the very important costs that can come down the road,” says Calla.

You can also secure mortgage pre-approval, which only 36% of Canadians do. Pre-approval makes you look like a more serious buyer, gives you a clear sense of what you can afford, and can make buying much quicker.  

Spilling the Tea on Down Payments

The minimum down payment requirement on a home in Canada is 5% — but a 2021 report from the Canadian Real Association (CREA) found that most people go higher than this in many provinces. For example, they looked at average down payments in British Columbia (22.5%), Ontario (20.35%), Quebec (15%), Alberta (15.15%) and Nova Scotia (14.26%), and none were below 10% down. As for where we save, the most popular place for a down payment is in a tax-free savings account (TFSA), where 50% of Canadians put their funds. 

We know where Canadians save, but where do they get the money? For most, buying a home is a family affair. Regarding down payments, 47% of Canadians receive money from family and/or an inheritance to boost their percentage. An additional 24% of people use their partner’s family’s money for the same.  

Although most Canadians get their down payment fund from their savings, a surprising number of Canadians use borrowed money to buy homes, such as through a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) or inheritance. In an ideal world, regardless of where your down payment comes from, you need to be sure that the home you’re buying is affordable with or without those extra funds — and lenders will want to ensure the same.

While you can borrow to contribute to your down payment, you may qualify for less mortgage, according to Calla. “While today’s qualifications are income times three, for example, $100,000 per year qualifies you for a $300,000 mortgage, adding any outside debts to that usually reduces that ability,” says Calla. Instead, she says you are better off using family financial planning and getting a gift from your parents as a part of an early inheritance. 

“This is why the reverse mortgage is so popular for parents looking at how to help their kids get into the market without impacting their cash flow or causing a taxable event by taking out investments.”

(This post is courtesy of Zolo, where you can read the full article)

Angela Calla is an 19-year award-winning woman of influence which sets her apart from the rest. Alongside her team, Angela passionately assists mortgage holders in acquiring the best possible mortgage. Through her presence on “The Mortgage Show” and through her best-selling book “The Mortgage Code“, Angela educates prospective home buyers by providing vital information on mortgages. In light of this, her success awarded her with the 2020Business Leader of the Year Award.

Angela is a frequent go-to source for media and publishers across the country. For media interviews, speaking inquiries, or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at hello@countoncalla.ca or at 604-802-3983.

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