New home buyers more prepared for ownership

The next generation of home buyers may face bigger sales prices but they are willing to save and sacrifice to pay the high price of ownership.

Investors who are concerned about the future pool of buyers can finally take a breather. The next generation of buyers are more financial savvy and equipped to take on the market.That is according to a new national survey by Genworth Canada. Potential home buyers are working harder and saving for longer to secure a down payment and remain confident about the long-term benefits of property ownership."Despite tighter mortgage qualification criteria over recent years, survey results point towards positive trends in homebuyer behaviour," said Stuart Levings, Chief Operating Officer of Genworth Canada. "With a stable economy and real estate market, Canadians appear to have more confidence in the value of homeownership and see their goals of homeownership and financial well-being as more achievable."Indeed, 53 per cent of the 1,507 Canadians surveyed said they are worried that they are missing out on the perfect house today because they do not have enough saved for a down payment.A majority of respondents say they expect house prices to rise in the next 12 months, with most expecting to save for between one and four years to save for their down payment. Nine out of ten agree that owning their home means more work and effort, but would rather own than rent. More buyers are getting their finances in order to make their case for lending more favourable. The proportion of potential buyers who say they don’t know their credit rating has declined from 32 to 23 per cent, while 51 per cent said they pay their credit cards off in full each month.