Mortgage before marriage? A new report finds more women than men are likely to put first-time home ownership before a wedding.
Low interest rates and a booming housing market have drawn record numbers of buyers, including an increasingly diverse pool of first-time buyers, says the Royal LePage First-Time Homebuyers’ Report 2004.
The report comprises a national omnibus poll of recent first-time homeowner and buyer attitudes and a market analysis of trends and activity in major markets across Canada.
Currently, about the same number of men (49 per cent) and women (51 per cent) are first-time homeowners. But, says the report, the gap is set to widen as women become an increasingly significant part of the market.
Among those who have never owned a home, 55 per cent of women said they will potentially purchase their first property in the next three years, compared with 45 per cent of men.
Among potential buyers (those who said they will potentially buy a home in the next three years), more than half of men and women believe it is important to be in a long-term relationship before they buy. However, a full 30 per cent of women intend to buy their first home alone with their name as the sole one on the deed.
“We have seen a marked change in the attitudes of women toward homeownership over the past several years,” said Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage Real Estate Services. “Traditionally, marriage came before the mortgage, but goals have clearly changed.
“Women are using their purchasing power to invest in real estate and have little trepidation about doing it alone.”
The most surprising finding of the study was reorganization of more traditional life priorities, particularly among female respondents.
While 15 per cent of men planning to buy in the next three years said they would be “very likely” to forgo a wedding reception to put a larger down payment on their first home, the number jumped to 30 per cent for women when asked the same question.
Other poll findings:
* Across the country, a detached bungalow is the home of choice for new homebuyers with 33 per cent of first-time owners living in a bungalow and 31 per cent of potential buyers expecting to purchase one.
* While 27 per cent of new homebuyers who purchased in the last five years paid less than $80,000 for their first home, only nine per cent of potential buyers expect to pay the same amount.
* Selecting a home in a trendy neighbourhood is at the top of the list of considerations for first-time homebuyers in Calgary.
The northwest and southwest are favourites, but rising home values have priced first-time buyers out of most of the detached homes in these areas. However, condominium properties have started to pop up in these neighbourhoods and are growing in popularity among first-time buyers.
* First-time buyers in Edmonton have turned to condo properties priced under $100,000 after being priced out of the detached bungalow market.
The city has been slow to embrace the condominium lifestyle, but buyers have gradually become more accustomed to the idea of low-maintenance living, and condos have now become the property of choice for those entering the market.
The poll portion of the Royal LePage First-Time Homebuyers’ Report was conducted by Maritz Research between August 5 and August 14. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 1,858 adult Canadians, with a total of 315 Canadian respondents who qualified for the study. Results are considered accurate to within ±5.52 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
