A new survey suggests that nearly one-in-five (19%) of homebuyers during the pandemic are multi-property owners, with the remaining number evenly split between first-time homebuyers and those upgrading or downsizing to a new house.
That’s according to the latest RATESDOTCA survey, which was conducted online from January 7-9 among 1,547 respondents, and which sought to understand who has been buying houses during the pandemic.
Nine per cent (9%) of respondents said they purchased a home in the last 18 months. The bulk of the survey focused on those individuals and found that 40% of them said they were first-time homebuyers and that the property they were purchasing is their primary residence. Those buyers were overwhelmingly between the ages of 18-34 (65%).
Another 39% said they already owned one property and were purchasing a second one. Finally, 19% said they owned multiple properties, while 2% preferred not to answer.
The survey also asked homebuyers how they funded the down payment for their purchase. Nearly one-in-five first-time homebuyers (19%) said they were using gifted money from a family member.
The most popular way to fund a down payment was from personal savings, with 47% of respondents doing so. Another 24% said they funded the purchase from the sale of another property, while 14% said they leveraged equity from an existing property.
Affordability has been a major challenge for homebuyers in Canada — especially during the pandemic. A survey from Royal LePage earlier this month found that the average price of a Canadian home increased 17.1% to $779,000 in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared to the previous year.
