Minimum down payments explode higher in BC
Zoocasa report shows that the minimum down payment for a detached house and condo has increased in every municipality in British Columbia (BC) since the beginning of the pandemic. -BNN Bloomberg
The report calculates the minimum down payment based on 5% for a home valued at $500,000 and under, 10% for homes $500,001 to $999,999, and 20% for homes priced at $1 million and over.
Out of the 18 BC municipalities tracked, the down payment needed to buy an average detached home increased by over $100,000 in 10 markets.
The largest down payment increase since February 2020 was in Surrey, BC, where benchmark home prices increased 39% to $1,390,300. Homebuyers now need to put down an average of $278,060 to buy a property in Surrey, versus $74,790 pre-pandemic.
The average down payment for condos in British Columbia has also increased in every market, but less extreme than detached homes.
West Vancouver had the largest down payment increase for condos to $245,780 from $202,780 pre-pandemic, with an average property price of $1,228,900.
Vancouver West’s condo market increased the least with a minimum down now $2,830 more at $57,440, from $54,610 in February 2020.
A survey by the Mortgage Professionals Canada found that a “record-high number of non-owners believe they will never be able to buy a family home”.
Canada’s least affordable markets like Vancouver and Toronto are “not expected to return to affordable levels in the foreseeable future”.
Urban centres in Ontario and BC, where average house prices are 23.5 and 23.3-times average disposable income, remain by far the least affordable.
See the full story here: https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/here-s-how-minimum-down-payments-for-homes-in-b-c-have-changed-during-the-pandemic-1.1897040
