Canadians have never wanted to be homeowners that much

Mortgage Professionals Canada (MPC) published a number of its new real estate market reports investigating the influence of COVID-19 on consumer attitude towards housing and mortgages. The results once again confirm Canadians’ confidence in the homeownership security, particularly with COVID-19 and the uncertainty over a vaccine timetable putting life at home and personal safety as the main priorities.

This fifth part of the poll was written by MPC’s Chief Economist Will Dunning. The report says 1,000 Canadians were surveyed during the period from 14 to 25 January, 2021. There were mortgage holders, renters and others, including those who live with their parents, among the respondents.

“Our first poll of this year keeps showing that many Canadians want to be homeowners,” – noted MPC President and CEO Paul Taylor. The central bank’s Governor Tiff Macklem’s assurance that interest rates will remain extremely low for a long time, combined with a strong desire for personal change, have changed buyers’ calculations and timelines drastically, says Taylor.

Dunning shares his opinion: “Although home prices are growing today sharply in many regions across the country, the historically low interest rates have more than offset the impact of higher prices. I was surprised to see that affordability has in fact improved over the previous few months. As a result, interest in purchasing now exceeds the market supply, leading to a significant prices increase in Canada. Obviously, not everyone who wants to purchase a property, will be able to do it now”.

As these polls began almost seven months ago, the desire of non-owners to buy a new house in the nearest future has almost quadrupled. All five surveys reported growing number of those who plan to become homeowners next year, with 7% seen before the pandemic, 14% – during the first poll, and 27% – this time.

It’s important to understand that making economic forecasts during the calmest times is still difficult, but amid the pandemic, it has become almost impossible. In April and May, when fear was strong over risks to our health and the economy, and the real estate market froze, only few specialists believed that home buying activity would recover as strongly as it did, and that 2020 will show new records for sales and prices. And yet, here we are.

That’s why these polls were created as an alternative to forecasting, as they show changing attitudes and expectations concerning Canada’s real estate market in order to help us interpret market conditions, and maybe provide hints on future shifts. According to Dunning, these surveys provide an explanation for what’s happening at the market. “Many Canadians are re-organizing their housing situations. And this process may last for quite some time.”