18 July 2018

“Now they are saving for down payments,” – she said. “Savings rates are growing in Canada and that money will be used for larger down payments.”

The Altus Group report also explains how important first-time homebuyers are to the health of the Canadian housing market. They account for about half of all housing sales, but, this year, they had to leave the market.

Due to the market’s interconnectedness, fewer first-time buyers prevent other buyers from moving up.

“If I’m a repeat buyer and I want to move to a more expensive property, I need someone to buy my existing home”, – said Arsenault. “But if there are no first-time buyers, no one will do that. It’s all connected”.