Point2 releases Canadian homebuyer survey

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There’s no doubt that buying a condo would be easier than buying a single-family home, especially for first-time buyers trying to get on the property ladder and start building equity. There’s also no doubt that two incomes are better than one when it comes to fulfilling renters’ home ownership dreams. But that’s not what Canadian homebuyers are doing.

A new Point2 survey focusing on Canadian renters’ home ownership plans revealed that four in 10 renters were willing to apply for a mortgage alone. What used to be the default for decades — meaning applying for a mortgage with a spouse — is taking second place to going it alone.

Here are some generational insights that the Renter to Homeowner Point2 survey revealed:

• The Age of the Paradox: Most renters (42 per cent) — and from all generations except one — are considering applying for a mortgage alone, despite citing high home prices as the main hurdle on their path toward homeownership (39 per cent), followed by down payment worries (27 per cent).
• Gen Z: The youngest generation of renters has big plans: Most of the respondents under 25 want to buy

  the next 12 months (72 per cent) and many have already saved up to $30,000.

• Younger Millennials: Although they are slightly less determined than their younger counterparts, most Millennials under 35 want to buy within the year (57 per cent) and 76 per cent have saved up to $50,000.
• Older Millennials: The only age group that is still primarily considering buying a home with their spouse (50 per cent), older Millennials are also the only generation that’s slightly more worried about the down payment (35 per cent of respondents) than they are about the high home prices (34 per cent).
• Gen X: Renters aged 45 to 54 also want to buy a home alone (47 per cent), but seem to be more worried about their credit score than other generations
• Baby Boomers: Homebuyers over 60 are looking for smaller single-family homes (possibly in an attempt to downsize) but are mostly unsure about when they will actually commit to this decision.

Ambitious Goals: Gen Z and Baby Boomers Are Most Determined, But Can They Do It?

They probably can. Analyzing their other responses, it looks like it’s not just about future plans. Indeed, 76 per cent of renters over 65 and 72 per cent of Gen Z renters stated that they would like to buy within the next year, but what matters more is how much money they managed to set aside to cover the down payment.

The national benchmark home price reached $719,400, which puts the national average down payment amount at $143,880. Of course, the home price and therefore the down payment varies greatly depending on the city where renters live and the type of home they want to buy.

But some respondents have some serious money already set aside.

Although 14 per cent of Gen Z respondents haven’t managed to save anything yet, 74 per cent of them saved up to $30,000 for the down payment. But the most surprising finding was that the youngest potential buyers had the third highest share of super-savers: An amazing 8 per cent of them already had $100,000 set aside for their future down payment.

What’s more, many of them are saving quite substantially: 36 per cent set aside up to 20% of their monthly income toward a down payment and again, when it comes to super-saving habits, young renters who want to become homeowners are only surpassed by Baby Boomers: 6 per cent of Gen Z renters save more than half of their income — a percentage that’s only beat by the 9 per cent of Baby Boomers who are doing the same.

With prices steadily rising and mortgage rates continuing to be prohibitive, the housing market is becoming more and more competitive by the day. However, Canadian renters don’t seem to want to give up. Many of them are determined to make their home ownership dream come true — even if they have to do it on their own.

Methodology

• This study was based on a survey aimed at renters and homebuyers who visited or used the Point2 real estate platform.
• The survey was posted on Point2Homes.com between March and June, 2024.
• A total of 1,361 people participated, 890 of whom were renters. For this study, we only took into consideration the answers provided by renters.
• The national benchmark home price was sourced from CREA.
• The 20 per cent down payment amount was calculated based on the latest national benchmark home price.

The full survey is available at point2homes.com.

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