The Canadian Real Estate Market has remained strong and highly competitive into 2020. This continued strength and competition has caused some uncertainty and speculation in the media that things could change. Despite this, many Canadians still believe that homeownership plays an important part to their financial future.  

A new report from Mortgage Professionals Canada titled the Annual State of the Residential Mortgage Market in Canada discusses the main things Canadian’s consider when buying a home. It says despite the narrative in higher-priced housing markets that the primary driver for homebuying is the fear of missing out, the Canadians surveyed in these regions ranked the prestige of homeownership last on a list of 18 considerations.

Paul Taylor, CEO of Mortgage Professionals Canada, says “Encouragingly, the top four considerations for these homebuyers were monthly carrying costs, down payment savings, the potential change in house prices (up or down), and potential future earnings.”

According to the findings of the report, the number one consideration for homebuyers is monthly housing related costs, which include things like mortgage payment, hydro, heat, and insurance payments. This was followed by the amount of time it will take to pay off the mortgage, the amount your income might increase or decrease to in the future, and savings for a downpayment were the top four considerations.

The factors that are expected to receive the least consideration for homebuyers are the prestige of homeownership, future child care costs, the possibility of having to move, and future transportation costs. Looking at the 18 factors as barriers, the greatest issue is expectations about income growth, followed by the amount of time it will take to pay off the mortgage, the amounts of principal to be repaid each year, and the total monthly costs of housing.