CMHC Releases 2015 First-Time Home Buyers Survey

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Nov. 12, 2015) - Buying your first home is an exciting time but it also comes with many questions, concerns and in some cases, nerves. With that in mind, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) released today its 2015 First-Time Homebuyers Survey (#FirstTimeBuyers) coinciding with the fifth anniversary of Financial Literacy Month (#FLM2015).

"For many Canadians, buying their first home is the single, largest purchase they have ever made." says Nathalie Fredette, Vice-President, Client Relationship Management. "Our aim is to provide mortgage brokers, lenders and other industry professionals with valuable information and useful tools so they can better guide their clients through this major life event."

"CMHC's survey results reiterate the central role that mortgage professionals play in providing first-time homebuyers with the information they need to manage their money and debt wisely," said Jane Rooney, Canada's Financial Literacy Leader. "The more we understand the financial literacy needs of Canadians, the better we can be at providing the right information at the right time to help them build their financial knowledge, skills and confidence."

2015 SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS:

• First-time homebuyers are two times more likely to use social media to research homebuying information than other mortgage consumers.
• First-time buyers are not as confident as repeat buyers. They tended to have a lower understanding of mortgage options and were more likely to find the mortgage process difficult. They were also less certain about where to go if they faced financial trouble.
• Over 70% of first-time homebuyers received advice regarding mortgage rates, terms, affordability and repayment strategies from their brokers and lenders. Advice on long-term mortgage strategies increased a first-time homebuyers' level of understanding of options and their level of satisfaction with their mortgage professional by over 80%.

CMHC offers a number of free tools and resources, including online calculators and a Homebuyer Step-by-Step guide, to help potential homebuyers evaluate their financial readiness so that they can make an informed homebuying decision.

For more information on the First-Time Homebuyers survey and to view the complete survey results visit:

www.cmhc.ca/FirstTimeBuyers

Join the conversation using #FirstTimeBuyers and stay up-to-date with the latest information from CMHC by following us on: Twitter (@CMHC_ca), LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube.

As Canada's authority on housing, CMHC contributes to the stability of the housing market and financial system, provides support for Canadians in housing need and offers objective housing research and information to Canadian governments, consumers and the housing industry.

Backgrounder

• CMHC's first time homebuyer survey focused on the home buying process as well as the technology used and the attitudes displayed by first-time buyers. The survey also examined the first-time buyer's experience with lenders and brokers.

• In April 2015, 788 first-time home buyers from across Canada completed the on-line survey. All respondents had undertaken a mortgage transaction in the past 12 months and were one of the prime decision-makers within their household for matters relating to housing finance and mortgages.