A new survey of first-time homebuyers shows more than half of Vancouver-area residents are worried about putting forward a sufficient down payment.
Royal LePage and Genworth Canada said 58 per cent of those looking to buy into the real estate market have anxiety about their savings not stretching enough to get them into the home that they want.
The local percentage is just slightly above the national number. The survey released Thursday suggests Canada-wide, 57 per cent of first-time buyers worried they might miss out on a property because of an insufficient down payment.
Looking at B.C. overall, 56 per cent expressed concerns.
"Early generational wealth transfer from downsizing Baby Boomers has given a financial boost to first-time home buyers," said Adil Dinani, a real estate advisor for Royal LePage West.
"Despite some softening in prices, first-time home buyers are optimistic about the long term health of the region’s real estate market."
Even with the steep prices of Vancouver homes, the city didn't rank highest in terms of down payment fears. Montreal's median home price is just one-third of Vancouver's, but 60 per cent of respondents in the Quebec city said they were worried.
Toronto had the highest percentage at 68.
In order to save up, a quarter of Canadians said they'd lived with parents or other relatives. Nearly half of those did pay rent, but 30 per cent of rent-payers said they were paying less than if they'd lived in a market-rate rental property.
A fifth said their decision to live with family delayed their parents' efforts to downsize.
The survey was released two days after another study on young homebuyers that suggested the top priority when choosing a property to purchase was proximity to transit.
The Royal LePage study was conducted between February and March. About 1,900 Canadians between the ages of 25 and 40 were interviewed online, and all had purchased their homes within the last two years.
