Accessibility, investment potential among leading purchase motivators – study

The impact of mortgage rule changes and interest rate increases was surprisingly small

Accessibility, investment potential among leading purchase motivators – study
The latest survey conducted by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) found that would-be home buyers in every category – namely, first-time buyers, previous owners, and current owners – are all motivated my mostly the same factors when deciding to finally purchase a residential property.

The Crown corporation’s 2018 Prospective Home Buyer Survey has determined that improved accessibility (i.e., less physical obstacles and barriers) and investment opportunities are the top motivators for Canadian would-be buyers.

Surprisingly, “changes to mortgage regulations and concerns about possible future interest rate increases were not among the top motivators for prospective home buyers in 2017.” Fully one in four prospective home buyers said that they would likely consider delaying their purchases in the event of an increase in interest rates.

Read more: Although cautious, BoC’s rate hikes will still incite ripples – DLC’s Cooper

Meanwhile, over 40% of first-time buyers and previous owners would be willing to delay their home purchases if they are not able to find their ideal house, “with a fairly similar proportion saying they would be willing to compromise on the size of the home and location.”

An existing move-in-ready home is the most preferred property type across all groups of prospective home buyers, followed by a newly constructed home, the report stated.

“The majority of future home buyers intend to obtain a mortgage to finance their home purchase, with first-time buyers showing higher incidence compared to previous owners and current owners.
Across all groups of future home buyers, more than six in ten say they are likely to have a financial buffer in case their expenses change in the future.”

The full CMHC survey can be accessed here.


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