We’ve been told that no matter what the subject matter may be, change is the only constant. When it comes to the realities for would-be homebuyers in Canada, things have changed a lot over the last little while and we’re not talking only about the hot real estate market in Canada that’s been caused in large part by the COVID-pandemic itself. In short, the reasonings that lead people to buy the homes they buy and all sorts of scenarios that factor into the decisions are always changing.
And in a roundabout way, this is a part of what make working as real estate agent in Canada as challenging as it is. The success that successful realtors enjoy is often a product of a long, long time of learning the industry and then being able to reflect that ‘in the know’ quality to prospective clients. You get to that point by learning as you go and learning from working with clients. Now of course in order to do that you need to have those clients, so if you’re new to the business then our online real estate lead generation system here at Real Estate Leads is a solid choice for starting your career on the right foot.
What we’re seeing now here in the spring of 2021 is that yes, we know more and more buyers than ever feel they need to buy a home while interest rates are low and the currently lacking supply of home becomes even more lacking. But there’s much more in the way of prerogative specifics too, and after reading an interesting client insight profile prepared for the industry we thought we’d share what we’ve learned there about these new ‘realities’ for people who may be working with a real estate agent in the not so distant future.
Close Split
Canada has been regarded as a seller’s market in real estate for a long time now, and that has everything to do with demand outstripping supply in a big way. But the biggest thing to note in these new perspectives is that there’s been a real shift there and many people don’t quite see it the same way anymore. A recent RBC Home Ownership Poll found that 36% of Canadians feel the market benefits buyers, while 34% feel it is more beneficial for sellers.
Next up is a move away from the long-time standard of homes being bought by couples, either on their own or with children as part of a nuclear family. Home buyers are moving away from the traditional trend of buying a home with a spouse or partner. 28% of poll respondents indicated their intention to purchase a home with extended family members. 32% state they are preferring to purchase a home alone. The numbers of those looking for home ownership with their spouse or partner has gone down in the past few years. Non-traditional trends like that one – buying a home entirely on your own – have increased.
What we’re seeing is more of people at either end of the spectrum – more confident, in-control solo home buyers and then others who can’t do it alone and require someone in the family to assist them financially or be a part of a collective purchase.
Home Ownership’s Financial Strain
The housing affordability crisis that is nationwide in Canada is as prominent as ever. New homeowners are diverting ever-increasing portions of paycheques to cover housing costs. ‘House poor’ is a term for those that spend over 30% of their income on home ownership costs, and estimates are that around 39% of homeowners who’ve purchased in the last 5 years qualify as being house-poor homeowners. Or roughly that some four out of every 10 Canadian homeowners are financially strained because of owning their home.
Such an abundance of house-poor homeowners has to be a cause for concern, both for economists as well as for anyone who works in real estate. 92% of homeowners say this causes them a great amount of mental stress and then nearly half of those respondents have said that they actively discourage friends, family and / or workplace associates from buying homes at this time because of it.
On the other end of that 47% still believe that home ownership is worth it in the long term, and a full 80% say they’re still okay with the investment of it. Do they wish that investment was a lot less taxing on them financially and mentally though? You can be sure they do.
Sufficient Enthusiasm
The difficulty of home ownership in the current market is very real, but many prospective buyers work with the understanding that if it’s your right time to buy then it’s smart to look past those hardships and try to focus on the bigger picture. 8 out of 10 participants in that same RBC poll said that a home or condominium purchase is still a good investment. More than 2-thirds of those same people still feel that it makes more sense to buy a home rather than renting one and not building up any equity for yourself.
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