It’s not all bad news in the world of real estate and home buying. Despite gloomy headlines about Canada’s slow recovery and talk about housing bubbles, a new online study conducted by our company, TMG the Mortgage Group, has found that renters are eager to get into their own homes and there is potential for an increase in homeownership demand by 12%. Not only that, they are looking at home ownership with a new attitude and that’s good news for the financial stability of the country. 

Renters are looking at two areas: mortgage rates and mortgage features.  Flexibility in repayment terms is high on the list of what first time home buyers look for. That says a lot – they want to pay off their mortgages quickly. That would potentially free up a lot of capital to be used in other areas such as consumer spending and investing.

With the Bank of Canada holding its prime rate at an historic 1%, which will likely stay there for most of 2012, coupled with the recent news that the U.S. Fed is leaving their rates unchanged until 2014, bodes well for new home owners.  The economy is set to grow at a very modest pace of 2%, which will keep inflation low. Consumer confidence has risen with many believing that the economy will be stronger in the next six months.

Low fixed rates have created an interesting market. Where once variable rates ruled the day, fixed rates are now so attractive, and are trumping variables, that the decision to lock into a mortgage is an easy one. These rates will continue to a fuel the Canadian housing market, with housing prices expected to moderately increase along with an increase in the number of properties sold.

Not only is it a good time to buy but renters can also get started planning for that buy by working with a mortgage broker who can tailor a mortgage loan to a client’s particular need. TMG’s study found that renters like the idea of working with mortgage professionals who can show them options, thereby saving both time and money.

You can read more about the study here: http://www.mortgagegrp.com/site/bc/news.asp?id=731