Low interest rates, bulked up savings and the availability of remote work has made homeownership more attractive, even if affordability is decreasing
Millennials want space, both outdoors and indoors, to accommodate their new work-from-home lifestyle. PHOTO BY NORM BETTS/BLOOMBERG
A quarter of millennials have purchased homes in the past year, as the pandemic has created a near-perfect window of opportunity for them to buy, according to a new poll.
Eye-wateringly low interest rates, bulked up savings and the availability of remote work has made homeownership more attractive, even if affordability is decreasing, said John Webster, Scotiabank’s head of real estate secured lending.
The Bank of Nova Scotia on Thursday released results from a housing poll that looked at the pandemic’s influence on Canadians and their interest in buying and selling.
The poll found that close to 40 per cent of millennials aged 18 to 34 accelerated their plans to buy a home because of low interest rates.
“It’s a very attractive time,” said Webster. Even if affordability is decreasing, the fear-of-missing-out factor is still top of mind, he said.
While condos in city cores may have once been the only option millennials could pursue, due to the proximity to their jobs and price factors, that has now changed, Webster said.
Millennials want space, both outdoors and indoors, to accommodate the new work-from-home lifestyle, he said. The pandemic also put a stop to most discretionary spending.
Add that to price that have gone up 25 per cent from last year, and Webster said millennials are thinking, “‘Why would I wait another year if I can manage the downpayment because it looks like it’ll be more expensive next year?’”
The poll was conducted by Maru/Blue from March 17 to March 19, with 3,017 survey responses collected from a random sample of panel members. An error rate was not provided.
Credit to: Bianca Bharti, Vancouver Sun, April 08, 2021