A Snapshot of First-Time Home Buyers

Genworth Canada recently polled over 1,800 first-time homebuyers in Canada in their ‘2017 Homeownership Study’, to get a feel for what that prominent demographic looks like.

Almost half of first-time buyers (49%) believe owning a home is a wise financial decision. Top reasons homebuyers were motivated to purchase include: 1) believe owning is a wiser financial decision (49%); 2) want to control the home they live in (46%); and 3) saved enough for a down payment (45%). A further three in ten (29%) said they disliked renting a home. Nearly six out of ten or 57% of first-time homebuyers indicated that they would have a more difficult time buying with the stricter mortgage qualifying rules recently introduced. [Genworth Canada]

There were a lot of interesting findings in the report, and key trends, but here’s some of the key trends:

• Nine out of 10 first-time buyers are millennials.
• 41 per cent bought solo, while 57 per cent bought with a spouse or partner.
• 91 per cent have a post-secondary education, at some level.
• The majority (54 per cent) earned between $50,000 and $99,000 per year; 23 per cent earned between $100,000 and $140,000 per year.
• In Calgary, 48 per cent bought detached homes; 19 per cent bought townhouses’ 21 per cent bought condos.
• 61 per cent put down less than a 20 per cent down payment.
• 74 per cent sought a mortgage broker during the process.
• 84 per cent are employed full-time, 48 per cent are working in a private business.

Key factors in choosing a home for first-time homebuyers:

• Safety of the neighbourhood.
• Close proximity to work.
• 93 per cent said the price of the home was key.
• 91 per cent said the size of the home was important.
• 72 per cent valued energy-efficiency in a home.

The study also found that 48% of homeowners felt they were in “good financial shape” and have a general notion of what they wanted to achieve with their finances. The results of the study in 2017 compared to 2015, showed a slight decline in the perception that owning a home was a wise financial decision (49% down from 53%) likely due to current house prices being much higher than in 2015. [Genworth Canada]

If you’re a first-time home buyer or just have questions about this new information, please feel free to contact me. You can also reach me on Twitter anytime.

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