Canadians Have Growing Concerns Over Mortgage Qualification

News provided by

Jan 09, 2020, 09:00 ET

More than half of Canadians (56%) See Qualifying for a Mortgage as Barrier to Home Ownership, Up 6 Points from 2018

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- For many Canadians, buying a home can be a challenging and stressful experience. According to a recent survey from Zillow and Ipsos, 92% of Canadians see at least one barrier to home ownership, and two of the top concerns are related to the mortgage process.

Canadians report feeling pressured by stricter mortgage regulations that went into effect in 2018 and Zillow's recent survey found that 56% of Canadians see qualifying for a mortgage as a barrier to home ownership, a six-point increase from 2018. This concern rises to 64% for consumers who recently purchased a home, likely linked to the mortgage regulation changes looming at the time of their home search. After mortgage qualification, the next top worry for buyers is whether they can afford the mortgage payment: More than half (54%) report this as a barrier.

New and stricter mortgage requirements took effect in January 2018 with the addition of a stress test, requiring borrowers to qualify under a higher rate. The rule only applies to newly originated mortgages and is designed to prevent borrowers from taking on more debt than they can handle if interest rates go up. Since its passing, buyers' worries are growing according to the survey. Half of Canadians (51%) say they are concerned that stricter rules will prevent them from qualifying for a mortgage, up five points since 2018.

These mortgage regulations could impact a substantial portion of potential buyers, as the survey results show a large share of Canadian homeowners (80%) get mortgages. Younger home shoppers also feel the weight of the law. Sixty-nine percent of those 18-34 years old are concerned about qualifying for a mortgage under the stricter guidelines. This worry is also present for current renters who may be considering the purchase of their first home: 66% express concerns about mortgage qualification under stricter guidelines.

About the Study
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between September 24 and October 8, 2019, on behalf of Zillow. For this survey, a sample of 1,503 Canadians aged 18+ was interviewed online via the Ipsos I-Say panel. Quota sampling and weighting were employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ±2.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadian adults been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

About Zillow
Zillow^® is transforming how people buy, sell, rent and finance homes by creating seamless real estate transactions for today's on-demand consumer. Zillow is the leading real estate and rental marketplace and a trusted source for data, inspiration and knowledge among both consumers and real estate professionals.

Zillow's proprietary data, technology and industry partnerships put Zillow at nearly every major point of the home shopping experience, helping consumers search for and get into their new home faster. Zillow now offers a fully integrated home shopping experience that includes access to for sale and rental listings, Zillow Offers^®, which provides a new, hassle-free way to buy and sell eligible homes directly through Zillow; and Zillow Home Loans, Zillow's affiliated lender that provides an easy way to receive mortgage pre-approvals and financing. Zillow Premier Agent instantly connects buyers and sellers with its network of real estate professionals to help guide them through the home shopping process. For renters, Zillow's innovations are streamlining the way people search, tour, apply and pay rent for leased properties.

In addition to Zillow.com, Zillow operates the most popular suite of mobile real estate apps, with more than two dozen apps across all major platforms. Launched in 2006, Zillow is owned and operated by Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z and ZG) and headquartered in Seattle.
Zillow and Zillow Offers are registered trademarks of Zillow, Inc.

SOURCE Zillow