The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) recently released the results of its 2021 Mortgage Consumer Survey. Here are the highlights:
84 per cent of mortgage consumers indicated no change to their housing needs due to COVID-19. Despite this fact, 77 per cent of borrowers said they value their home more since the onset of the crisis, and 40 per cent noted that the pandemic had impacted their purchase decision.
Specifically, 32 per cent indicated that the pandemic had an effect on the type of home they chose and 30 per cent specified that it had an impact on the physical space or surface required.
65 per cent of buyers paid the maximum price they could afford on the purchase of their home, an increase of five percentage points compared to the 2019 survey (60 per cent). In addition, 31 per cent of buyers were involved in a bidding war in their search for a home, compared to 25 per cent in 2019.
Various reasons were mentioned to justify the purchase of a property. Notably, 42 per cent mentioned the security of investing in a property, 37 per cent indicated the stability offered by a home, 34 per cent cited low interest rates, 31 per cent noted that they needed a larger home, 28 per cent viewed the purchase as an investment opportunity, and 20 per cent said they were worried that house prices would rise.
