Three-quarters of Canadian buyers expect the cost of housing to continue to rise over the next year, according to a recent BMO survey.
The poll released on Monday found that 84% of buyers expect inflation to continue to rise and three-quarters expect further interest rate hikes.
“These financial barriers have a major bearing on these consumers’ buying plans, in terms of what they will buy and when they will buy it.
Most understand that they will have to spend more; the impact on lead times is shared, with some buying earlier before prices rise further, and others waiting to see if prices fall,” said Hassan Pirnia, Head of Retail Lending and Financing Products at Housing, BMO Financial Group.
Thus, 68% of respondents indicated that they would like to change the amount they intend to spend on the purchase of their home. They are 73% ready to spend more, either because prices have increased (for 55% of them), because their income has increased (28%) or thanks to savings made during the pandemic (27% ).
The survey shows that over the past year, the amount expected to buy a home has increased by 100,000%, up 26%. On average, home buyers across the country expect to pay $588,000.
Moreover, interest in buying a house in major urban centers has increased by 5% in one year in the country, while the preference to move away from major centers has decreased with the return to the office.
The survey was conducted online between February 24 and March 7 among 1,003 Canadians planning to buy a home in the next 12 months.