V-like housing sales recovery cited

August 12, 2020

Mortgage Professionals Canada (MPC) has released the first report in a series of consumer surveys tracking the effects of COVID-19 on Canadian home ownership.  
The Rapidly Evolving Expectations in the Housing Industry report outlines how most current homeowners have not been severely impacted by COVID-19 with respect to their employment situation, and what’s more many are only expecting a short-term change in employment. The vast majority of current owners have also expressed comfort with current mortgage debt and reinforced the perspective that they remain pleased with the decision to purchase a home.
This is reflected in a V-like recovery in recent home buying, the report noted.
Paul Taylor, president and CEO of MPC said, “What we have seen clearly is that the vast majority of homeowners are not feeling a long-term financial impact related to COVID-19, and that potential homebuyers are still very much in the market for a home, signs of which are being seen in regions across the country.”
“To this point, the greatest economic effects of COVID-19 have been experienced by young age groups and people in lower-wage occupations. In consequence, the housing market impacts will likely be greater in the rental sector than for home ownership,” Taylor continued.
There is more confidence that now is the right time to buy a home, the report found.
“A large majority of mortgage holders (72 per cent) do not foresee any difficulty in making ongoing mortgage payments,” added Taylor. “A quite small minority (5 per cent) of mortgage holders expect that they will have a lot of difficulty with future payments.”