For the first time since the pandemic’s start, Canadians are experiencing a shift in the real estate market they’ve come to know. There were record-setting sales across the country in 2020 and 2021, with extreme demand from buyers and a low supply of homes for sale. In turn, we saw Canada’s housing market and home prices across the country reach unprecedented highs.
Deciding to buy a home is a big deal, and there are a lot of unknowns to tackle. For instance, when they purchase a property, who do they hire? How many homes do they view before putting in an offer? What was the non-negotiable feature they needed in their home?
After all, we all want to know whether we’re doing the same things as everyone else — or if we’re missing a key step or bit of information to help us make a better decision regarding the biggest purchase of our lives. So we asked 800 Canadians how, when, where and why they bought their homes in 2022, and we’re sharing all of the juicy details.
The trend in Canada’s housing market throughout 2022 can be boiled down to increased borrowing costs and a long overdue shift from a seller’s market to a more balanced market. And we’ll talk more about the 2022 market later in this piece. But, knowing this, how did buyers make decisions and buy homes — and what does this mean for you?
Key Findings
- 55% of Canadians create a budget before they buy a home
- 50% of Canadians save their down payment in their TFSA
- 47% of Canadians receive money from family and/or an inheritance to boost their down payment
- Only 36% of home buyers hire a home inspector
- 49% of Gen Z browses for properties on Instagram
- 80% of Canadians negotiate their home price
Canadians Could Use a Bit More Prep in Their Home Buying Step
Typically, preparation is one of the first steps to buying a home. When you plan to buy a home, you usually require a deep understanding of your financial situation and a team of experts to help you throughout your home-buying journey. Let’s look at how most Canadians prepare to buy homes financially and otherwise.
Majority of Canadians Create a Budget Before They Buy a Home
One of the first steps you need to take to know how much home you can afford is to look at your income, spending habits and debt load. For one thing, this helps a home buyer grasp the reality of the cost of homeownership, but having this information at your fingertips will make it easier to qualify for home financing when the time comes.
Thankfully, 55% of Canadians create a budget before they buy a home. However, there is room for improvement when it comes to everything related to money and homeownership. For example, only 25% of Canadians shopped around for their mortgage rate. Getting multiple quotes on a mortgage rate is one of the key ways to ensure you get the best deal, which directly translates to how much you’ll spend each month repaying your loan. Our advice? Don’t sleep on a good comparison shop.
Mortgage expert and author Angela Calla agrees. “Not shopping around for a mortgage is the costliest mistake anybody can possibly make,” She says that every lender has their own bias to sell a product. An independent mortgage broker uses one application to protect the applicants’ credit. Mortgage brokers aren’t directly employed by lenders, which allows them to shop your application to banks, credit unions and trust companies that consumers couldn’t access on their own. “Doing it on your own hurts your credit, limits your options, and doesn’t point out the very important costs that can come down the road,” says Calla.
You can also secure mortgage pre-approval, which only 36% of Canadians do. Pre-approval makes you look like a more serious buyer, gives you a clear sense of what you can afford, and can make buying much quicker.
Spilling the Tea on Down Payments
The minimum down payment requirement on a home in Canada is 5% — but a 2021 report from the Canadian Real Association (CREA) found that most people go higher than this in many provinces. For example, they looked at average down payments in British Columbia (22.5%), Ontario (20.35%), Quebec (15%), Alberta (15.15%) and Nova Scotia (14.26%), and none were below 10% down. As for where we save, the most popular place for a down payment is in a tax-free savings account (TFSA), where 50% of Canadians put their funds.
We know where Canadians save, but where do they get the money? For most, buying a home is a family affair. Regarding down payments, 47% of Canadians receive money from family and/or an inheritance to boost their percentage. An additional 24% of people use their partner’s family’s money for the same.
Although most Canadians get their down payment fund from their savings, a surprising number of Canadians use borrowed money to buy homes, such as through a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) or inheritance. In an ideal world, regardless of where your down payment comes from, you need to be sure that the home you’re buying is affordable with or without those extra funds — and lenders will want to ensure the same.
While you can borrow to contribute to your down payment, you may qualify for less mortgage, according to Calla. “While today’s qualifications are income times three, for example, $100,000 per year qualifies you for a $300,000 mortgage, adding any outside debts to that usually reduces that ability,” says Calla. Instead, she says you are better off using family financial planning and getting a gift from your parents as a part of an early inheritance.
“This is why the reverse mortgage is so popular for parents looking at how to help their kids get into the market without impacting their cash flow or causing a taxable event by taking out investments.”
Who Do We Hire to Help Us Buy Homes?
If you want the ultimate experience when you purchase a home, hiring the right professionals is the best way to increase the quality of your home-buying journey. Of the ten-plus real estate professionals you could hire, here are the top five you need to have to ensure a smooth home buying experience:
- Real estate agent – to help you find your dream home
- Mortgage broker – to help you get the best deal on a mortgage rate
- Home inspector – to determine whether your future home is safe
- Insurance broker – to help you get the best deal on home insurance
- Real estate lawyer – to finalize paperwork and ensure you own your home outright
Most Canadians hired a real estate agent (67%) but were less likely to hire a home inspector (36%), a mortgage broker (37%) or a real estate lawyer (37%). The shocking part of these results? You need a real estate lawyer to help you finalize your home purchase. Therefore, most people likely hired a real estate lawyer but didn’t know they did. If anything, Canadians are very green when buying a home — even if they’re already homeowners.
How Do Millennials Home Buying Habits Compare to Other Generations
Generationally, the way we buy homes is unique. From the property type to the places we search for our future homes, millennials and other generations are doing things their way.
For instance, millennials are more likely to buy a single-family home as they begin to have children than boomers, who are more likely to buy a condo as they downsize to a more affordable property in their retirement years.
But the most notable difference between generations is how we do our house hunting. Boomers, Generation X and Millennials use real estate listing websites as their primary source for finding their dream homes. However, for the younger home buyers, 49% of Generation Z opted to browse properties on Instagram. So it may be time for agents to shift how they interact with their clients in the coming years.
Millennials and Generation Z are also much more decisive in knowing what they want, as the majority only view between one to three homes. This decisiveness contrasts with the less assertive Generation X and Boomers, who typically view between four to six.
The survey revealed two commonalities between all generations. First, most in each age group bought their home with a partner or spouse (versus alone). Millennials are the most likely to buy as a couple, at 72%. The generation most likely to buy a home alone is generation Z, at 49%. Second, most home buyers choose to purchase a single-family home, meaning detached properties continue to reign supreme.
What Happens During the House Hunting Stage
The house hunting stage is when homebuyers start attending in-home viewings and considering wants and needs when it comes to their dream home. It can be easy to get distracted by all the excitement, particularly since so many buyers have been planning for this day for years. 47% of survey respondents spent one to two years browsing real estate listings before actively house hunting.
This extended research phase could explain why 31% of buyers only view between four to six homes before putting in an offer on ‘the one.’ Homebuyers who look at real estate listings years before house hunting starts the process with a solid grasp of what they need and want in a home. The most popular place to look for a home is a real estate listing website, with 55% of buyers house hunting via desktop.
But real estate listing websites no longer dominate as home search resources. Just a little behind was Facebook (46%), Instagram (37%) and Twitter (28%), respectively. The takeaway? Most people love to window shop for homes as much as they do their favourite clothing brands.
When browsing online listings, certain features or aspects of homes catch your eye. Canadians said that the family or living room is the important area or space when browsing or viewing these homes. In second and third place are the kitchen and bedrooms. Last on the list? Only 1% of buyers consider the entryway the most crucial space in their home.
Canadians’ Home Purchasing Habits
Once you prepare your finances and hop into house hunting, you can make an offer on your dream home. But first, consider how Canadians purchase homes and what habits we should keep — or ditch.
Viewing your home more than one time in person can be a valuable investment of your time. Seeing the space in different lighting and the neighbourhood through various times of day is always a great idea — and Canadians tend to agree. For example, 61% of homebuyers viewed their home two to four times before making an offer.
We love a good deal. But, when negotiating for ourselves, most people are shyer and struggle to ask for money. Things like a salary or bartering with store employees take work. Thankfully, this is different when it comes to real estate. A majority, 80% of Canadians, negotiate their home price.
“Now, more than ever, it’s especially important to negotiate,” says the Canadian Real Estate Investor podcast host Daniel Foch. “We can’t control the interest rate portion of the total cost, so we need to control the other aspect of affordability, which is price.”
Negotiating could make up for something you couldn’t quite get in the home you buy. When house hunting, it’s common to give up certain features to buy a home that fits your budget. For example, buying a two-bedroom home instead of a three-bedroom home. Thankfully, Canadians understand that compromising to keep afloat financially is crucial. Most people must compromise on square footage, type of home, and location.
But sometimes, compromising isn’t worth it. Remember that it’s okay to walk away and stay patient if you find a better home that suits your needs as an individual or family. The last thing you want to do is experience home buyer’s remorse because you were in a rush to buy.
Closing on Your Dream Home
After you put in an offer and negotiate, it’s time to close on your dream home — and most Canadians should be ready for a short closing period. On average, Canadians will take possession of their home in 30 days.
When you do take possession, you must do a thorough walkthrough of the property. Canadians don’t bother with this crucial step despite a walkthrough being part of the contract. Only half of the buyers reported doing their due diligence on possession day. As the contract states, a walkthrough is the best way to ensure everything is in order.
The other top things home buyers do on possession day are clean the home (50%), move in furniture (47%) and change the locks (40%). The lowest priority on the day they get the keys? Home renovations (18%), testing smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors (19%) and celebrating (21%). Buying a home is a lot of work, but it’s also a huge accomplishment. So remember to enjoy the experience by doing a happy dance or patting yourself on the back. And remember, doing your due diligence to ensure your home is a safe place to rest your head on night one is always worth the extra time.
A Look at Canada’s Housing Market
Knowing how buyers shop for their dream homes, let’s consider what Canada’s housing market looked like last year and how this impacts how we approach purchasing a property. In January 2022, the economy began to experience some turmoil. As a result, House prices suddenly dropped as the Bank of Canada rapidly increased interest rates from 0.25% in January 2022 to 4.25% by December 2022 to manage record-high inflation.
Prices Began Dropping — and Fast
After two years of intense demand for Canadian real estate, home sales were down by a significant 25% — totalling 168,000 fewer sales than in 2021. But, even though prices and sales declined, the average home price in 2022 was still higher than in 2021, with average residential prices 2.4% higher.
“Decreasing home prices mean a return to affordability may be in the future for some buyers,” says Foch. He also says that as prices come down, and if rates normalize, Canada’s housing market will hopefully create an opportunity for marginalized buyers to get a chance to buy.
Homes Also Took Longer to Sell
We saw similar trends for how long a home was on the market — or days on the market (DOM) — which increased in the year’s second half and the home’s total sale price. In 2022, DOM averaged 40 for detached houses, 34 for townhomes and 48 for condos. DOM is important because it helps determine a home’s potential selling price. “The longer a property takes to sell, the more likely it will sell under the asking price,” says Foch.
You were also far less likely to sell a home for over the asking price in Canada’s housing market in 2022. On average, detached houses sold for 0.7% under ask, townhomes for 0.5% under ask and condos for 2.6% under ask.
“Longer DOM means a slower market,” says Foch. Therefore, more luxuries for buyers, such as home inspection, appraisal, and financing conditions, are available. “It also means the market isn’t in excess demand, which means prices are likely to stay stable or come down in price, rather than climb in price.”
Survey Details
The survey data used for the Annual Home Buying Report was collected online between January 18, 2023, to January 23, 2023.
The online survey about Canada’s housing market asked 800 respondents various opinions, self-reports and knowledge-based questions to measure their experience buying a home in 2022 and their steps to purchase a property.
The estimated margin of error is +/- 3 percentage points.
