Who are they? What are they looking for? Where do they buy? - A comprehensive profile of homebuyers in Greater Montreal

Logo: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) (CNW Group/Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation) (CNW Group/Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation)

MONTRÉAL, June 20, 2018 /CNW/ - In its latest Housing Market Insight, entitled Who are the homebuyers in the various sectors of Greater Montréal? A first comprehensive study on the topic, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) presents the very first detailed profile of homebuyers for the different sectors of Greater Montréal.

The results provide a detailed overall picture of the types of clients found in the various geographic sectors of the Montréal metropolitan area. The data gathered also allow us to better understand the dynamics of the Montréal real estate market.

Using data from the latest Census (2016), this Housing Market Insight offers readers a chance to learn about the characteristics of households who bought a home in the Montréal CMA in 2016 and examines, in particular, households' geographic origin, the age of the home's primary owner, household types and median before-tax income.  

Highlights: 

• A substantial majority (about 60%) of buyers in the Montréal CMA (which includes all Island of Montréal, North Crown and South Crown municipalities) were households aged 25 to 44.
• Nearly half of the households who left Montréal to buy a home elsewhere in the CMA were couples (with or without children) aged 25 to 44 who bought a single-family home. The city of Montréal, incidentally, lost more buyers to each of the other sectors of the CMA than it gained from those sectors.
• In the central portion of the North Shore, a sector that encompasses the municipalities of Blainville, Boisbriand, Lorraine, Rosemère and Sainte-Thérèse, only 45% of households who bought a single-family home already lived in the same sector.
• Households who came from Montréal accounted for a significant proportion of buyers in a number of suburban sectors. For example, in 2016, 30% of single-family home buyers in Laval came from the city of Montréal.
• Condominium buyers in the city of Montréal were largely first-time homebuyers (households under the age of 35). However, certain sectors, such as Anjou, Saint-Léonard and Île-des-Sœurs, attracted a larger proportion of clients over the age of 55. In a number of suburban sectors, the condominium segment attracted buyers of all ages, and mainly one-person households.
• One-person households accounted for 45% of condominium buyers across the CMA. Another 30% were couples without children, and only 13% were families. The figures for single-family homes were just the opposite: 45% of buyers were families, and 12% were one-person households.
• The proportion of single-family home buyers who were families was higher in the sectors of the CMA where house prices were higher. This seems to fit with the finding that, in these sectors, buyers were also generally somewhat older (aged 35 to 55) and therefore, probably more likely to already have children.

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QUOTE

"There is very little data on the profile of households who buy homes in the Montréal area, and this study allows us therefore to help industry players keep abreast of the dynamics at play in the various sectors of Montréal. 

The suburban sectors generally attracted more young families and young couples without children looking for single-family homes. These suburban sectors also attracted buyers from other sectors of the CMA, including a number from the city of Montréal
— Francis Cortellino, Economist, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

SOURCE Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

on this release: Audrey-Anne Coulombe, Media Relations, 613-748-2573, [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca