The highlights of CMHC’s First-Time Homebuyers Survey

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has released the results of its 2015 First-Time Homebuyers Survey.

The survey was conducted online last April and there were 788 participants from across Canada. They had all purchased their first home in the last year and were one of the main decision makers in their household (when it came to the home purchase).   

“CMHC’s survey results reiterate the central role that mortgage professionals play in providing first-time homebuyers with the information they need to manage their money and debt wisely,” says Jane Rooney, Canada’s Financial Literacy Leader. “The more we understand the financial literacy needs of Canadians, the better we can be at providing the right information at the right time to help them build their financial knowledge, skills and confidence.”

That said, let’s get right into the highlights of the survey!

Sample image from CMHC's infographic

Highlights of the First-Time Homebuyers Survey

1) First-time homebuyers are twice as likely to use social media to research homebuying info than other mortgage consumers.

2) Over 70% required advice regarding mortgage rates, terms, affordability, and repayment strategies from their brokers and lenders.

3) 83% used online resources to search for their first home.

4) When looking for a mortgage broker, 70% used a search engine like Google, and 66% depended on a referral from a family member or friend.

5) Only 26% used a mobile device while researching or accessing mortgage information.

6) 34% said that their family or a family member had the most influence on them throughout the homebuying process.

7) 78% said they were happy with their mortgage lenders or brokers and 43% would use the same broker or lender for their next mortgage transaction.

8) More than half the time, the lender or broker did not follow up post transaction. First-time homebuyers said they would like some sort of follow up regarding financial strategies and advice on how to manage financial difficulties.

9) While many buyers were happy with the homebuying process, only 34% were confident that they received the best mortgage deal possible.

10) 55% had concerns throughout the homebuying process, mostly about financial strategies post purchase and adapting to a new way of budgeting extra monthly expenses like utilities, mortgage payments, and insurance.

To read CMHC’s entire 2015 First-Time Homebuyers Survey, click here.

There is also a handy infographic with a few of the highlights from the survey results.