Most optimistic first-time home buyers are in Alberta

As a consumer, you have many choices, not only in the interest rate but how to make payments and in the type of mortgage.

First-time home buyers in Alberta are more optimistic than other Canadians that now is a good time to buy a home, according to the latest BMO Housing survey.

More than 50 percent of Albertans surveyed agreed now is the time to buy, compared to 40 percent on the national level.

Across the west, 42 percent of respondents said the time to buy is now, while only a third of prospective buyers in Ontario believe now is the right time and less than 40 percent of first-time buyers in Quebec believe the current market favours buyers.

When it comes to being able to afford a home, first-time buyers are willing to stretch their wallets:

Nearly one in seven first-time home buyers are planning to buy a property which exceeds more than 30 percent of their income.
Close to 40 percent of first-time buyers are willing to make sacrifices in other areas of their lives to buy a more expensive home.
First-time buyers are also optimistic when it comes to the federal government’s First-Time Home Buyer Incentive. Of those surveyed, 86 percent believe the incentive will be useful towards achieving their home ownership goals.
Older millennials (in their 30s) – are one of the groups to find the new incentive very useful (50 percent).

“While first-time home buyers believe that market conditions are favourable for buyers, it’s important to make sure that carrying the costs are sustainable,” said Hassan Pirnia, head, personal lending and home financing products, BMO Bank of Montreal. “What we recommend is coming in and speaking with a mortgage specialist to come up with a plan that will put the buyer in a position to comfortably afford a home and help them understand the criteria for qualifying for the new incentive.”