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[Speaker: Joelle Hamilton, Communications & Marketing - CMHC]

Can you give us a quick overview and description of what the survey is and why it matters?

00:00:04:00

[Speaker: Sabrina Guay, Specialist, Insurance Business Development - CMHC]

The Mortgage Consumer Survey gives industry professionals a good understanding of the needs and expectations Canadians have when they’re buying a home.

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[Speaker: Joelle Hamilton, Communications & Marketing - CMHC]

Are we seeing signs of improvement in financial stress compared to last year?

00:00:22:00

[Speaker: Sabrina Guay, Specialist, Insurance Business Development - CMHC]

The survey does show some clear easing away from that financial stress amongst recent mortgage consumers.

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[Speaker: Joelle Hamilton, Communications & Marketing - CMHC]

How long does the survey say it takes for Canadians to save up for their down payment?

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[Speaker: Sabrina Guay, Specialist, Insurance Business Development - CMHC]

In the survey, homebuyers told us it took on average 4.4 years to save up for their down payment.

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[Speaker: Joelle Hamilton, Communications & Marketing - CMHC]

You’re listening to In-House, Canada’s Housing Podcast, where we share the latest on Canada’s housing market.

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Hello, everyone, and welcome back to In-House. I’m your host, Joelle Hamilton. In January, we reached out to over 4,000 recent mortgage consumers across Canada. We surveyed homebuyers, renewers and refinancers to find out how they feel about buying a home, securing a mortgage and who they turn to for help. With me today is Sabrina Guay, a specialist with CMHC’s Insurance Business Development team. Welcome back, Sabrina.

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00:01:26:00

[Speaker: Sabrina Guay, Specialist, Insurance Business Development - CMHC]

Thank you, Joelle. It’s great to join you again.

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00:01:28:00

[Speaker: Joelle Hamilton, Communications & Marketing - CMHC]

I’m happy you’re joining us again to walk us through the key findings of the latest Mortgage Consumer Survey. Let’s dive right in. We know that the economic landscape has been turbulent lately. What does this survey tell us about how Canadians feel about homeownership specifically?

00:01:47:00

[Speaker: Sabrina Guay, Specialist, Insurance Business Development - CMHC]

The survey tells us that recent mortgage consumers are feeling confident with their financial health and their recent transactions on their mortgage. While fewer have told us that they expect their house value to increase in the next 12 months, 8 out of 10 — a strong majority — do feel that homeownership is a good long-term investment. And, notably, homebuyers have expressed less concerns and less uncertainty during the homebuying process, so I feel overall that is a good news story.

00:02:18:00

[Speaker: Joelle Hamilton, Communications & Marketing - CMHC]

Are we seeing signs of improvement in financial stress compared to last year?

00:02:25:00

[Speaker: Sabrina Guay, Specialist, Insurance Business Development - CMHC]

We are seeing some encouraging signs with regards to financial stress. The survey does show some clear easing away from financial stress amongst recent mortgage consumers. Fewer of them have told us that they’re having difficulties managing their monthly obligations, their mortgage payments and so forth. Fewer were using one credit product to pay off another and fewer were concerned about defaulting on their mortgage. That said, there is still some financial pressure. If we look at renewers in particular, 35% of them do feel some increased strain this year, especially around interest rates. Many of them are renewing at higher rates, which leads to higher mortgage payments for many of them.

00:03:17:00

[Speaker: Joelle Hamilton, Communications & Marketing - CMHC]

Sabrina, how are Canadians researching mortgages today? Because I know research is a really important step. I remember back in the day when I was buying my first home, I turned to specific people and tools. But what I’d also like to know more specifically is whether potential homeowners are using any new tools or trends to do that research.

00:03:41:00

[Speaker: Sabrina Guay, Specialist, Insurance Business Development - CMHC]

That’s a great question, Joelle, because research is very important before jumping into buying a home or getting a mortgage. Mortgage consumers are relying heavily on digital tools. We asked a new question this year around AI, artificial intelligence, and we found that 1 in 10 mortgage consumers are using AI to search for information. We did see that there was a little bit less use of social media platforms this year for mortgage-related information across all platforms. The use of Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Reddit had dropped with regards to searching for mortgage information. We did see that websites, however, continue to be strong. 88% of consumers are going online to search interest rates, and 72% are using online calculators to calculate payments based on different interest rates or different amortizations. And we also saw that first-time homebuyers are more likely to attend a home show, a homebuying seminar, a showroom for new condominiums or new construction. This might mean that it’s the first time homebuyers want a little bit more in person or are trying to get as much information as they can.

00:05:08:00

[Speaker: Joelle Hamilton, Communications & Marketing - CMHC]

What can you tell us about the homebuying experience in 2026? And, more specifically, I’d like to know if consumers felt more or less prepared.

00:05:20:00

[Speaker: Sabrina Guay, Specialist, Insurance Business Development - CMHC]

In this survey, fewer homebuyers told us that they felt uncertainty or concerns throughout the mortgage and homebuying process, and there was also a decrease in the proportion of homeowners that had unexpected expenses. We use that as a benchmark because they’ve done all this research — was there anything unexpected? This year there was less of that, so it seems that people are doing their research. They’re looking for information through different sources. We even see that they’re contacting two or three lenders or mortgage brokers in order to gain some information before picking one and doing the transaction. So, we do see some encouraging signs there with regards to getting prepared and going through with the transaction.

00:06:12:00

[Speaker: Joelle Hamilton, Communications & Marketing - CMHC]

Saving for a down payment in Canada is still one of the biggest hurdles to homeownership. How long does the survey say it takes for Canadians to save up for their down payment?

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00:06:27:00

[Speaker: Sabrina Guay, Specialist, Insurance Business Development - CMHC]

Saving for a down payment is a hurdle for homebuyers. In the survey, homebuyers told us it took on average 4.4 years to save up for their down payment, which is a slight increase over last year. However, it does bring us back to 2024 and previous year averages. So, that’s something to look into. We also look at what compromises the down payment. For a first-time homebuyer, the largest source of funds is their own savings, whereas a repeat buyer will pull from the equity in their previous home. The path may look a little different, but in general, those savings and equity are what’s driving and making that purchase possible.

00:07:13:00

[Speaker: Joelle Hamilton, Communications & Marketing - CMHC]

What role do gifts and co-signers play in today’s market?

00:07:17:00

[Speaker: Sabrina Guay, Specialist, Insurance Business Development - CMHC]

That’s a great question, Joelle, because we’ve been tracking gifts for a few years now and the impact of financial gifts and inheritance on down payments and helping people get into homeownership. We found that in this year’s survey, one in five homebuyers is receiving a gift for their down payment, and that’s down slightly from last year. The average gift amount is also steady year over year. $30,000 is the median. We’ve switched to a median this year from an average. We reported averages in the last couple years, but we found that some people would have very large gifts and some would have very small gifts, and that would skew our average. By using a median, we found that in general, people received a median of $30,000 as their down payment. But what’s really interesting with gifts is the impact. Whereas fewer people may be receiving a gift this year, the impact is more substantial. 26% of them would not have been able to purchase a home that meets their needs without the gift, and that’s up from 19% last year. So, fewer are receiving gifts but more are relying on those gifts to make the purchase happen. A new question that we added this year was around co-signers: Did you require a co-signer to purchase your home or to get your mortgage? We found that one in four first-time homebuyers received help from a co-signer to purchase their home. So, we’re looking at that whole picture, the gifts, how long it takes to save up for the down payment, where the down payment’s coming from and if there’s additional help with purchasing the home or qualifying for the mortgage.

00:09:05:00

[Speaker: Joelle Hamilton, Communications & Marketing - CMHC]

We know that renovations continue to be a hot topic, even this year. What’s driving that push towards energy-efficient upgrades?

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[Speaker: Sabrina Guay, Specialist, Insurance Business Development - CMHC]

Renovations are always top of mind for homeowners. If you’ve ever owned a home, you have a laundry list of things that you want to do to that home. Almost two-thirds of mortgage consumers are planning renovations over the next five years, and about a third of them are looking to do energy efficiency renovations. Whether it’s new insulation, changing windows or doors or the roof, or converting an old heating system to something more efficient, what we’re hearing is that these renovations are really paying off. 91% of those who did energy efficiency renovations are satisfied with them. And 75% are seeing savings on their energy bills. That’s been consistent — not just this year. That’s been consistent over the three years we’ve been doing this podcast, which speaks to what’s driving these renovations. The comfort, the cost savings and the value that they’re getting is really what’s driving these types of renovations.

00:10:28:00

[Speaker: Joelle Hamilton, Communications & Marketing - CMHC]

How are homeowners financing them?

00:10:30:00

[Speaker: Sabrina Guay, Specialist, Insurance Business Development - CMHC]

Renovations do have real costs, right? About half are financing them through their savings. 63% are aware that they could potentially incorporate renovation costs into their mortgage, either through a refinance or a purchase with improvement. A top reason for refinancing is to pay for renovations, on par with paying off debt. And 76% of those that did energy efficiency renovations also looked for rebates or programs to help offset some of the costs. That’s where CMHC’s Eco programs come into play, because with CMHC Eco Plus or Eco Improvement, somebody who’s buying a new construction home that’s energy efficient, or somebody that owns a home and is doing up to $20,000 of eligible renovations, may be eligible for a 25% rebate on their CMHC premiums. That could be a few thousand dollars back in your pocket, which helps balance the costs of these types of renovations.

00:11:46:00

[Speaker: Joelle Hamilton, Communications & Marketing - CMHC]

If homeowners are interested in learning more about CMHC’s Eco Plus program, who can they turn to for help?

00:11:54:00

[Speaker: Sabrina Guay, Specialist, Insurance Business Development - CMHC]

I always recommend that mortgage consumers stay in contact with their mortgage professional, whether that’s a lender, their bank, their credit union, a mortgage finance company or a mortgage broker. Your financing needs may evolve over time, and those mortgage professionals are well versed about different programs and rebates, and they can tailor specific products to meet specific individual needs. So, I recommend that mortgage consumers stay in contact with their mortgage professionals as their needs evolve.

00:12:30:00

[Speaker: Joelle Hamilton, Communications & Marketing - CMHC]

For listeners who may be hearing about the survey for the first time or have heard about it but maybe have forgotten, can you give us a quick overview of what the survey is and why it matters?

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00:12:43:00

[Speaker: Sabrina Guay, Specialist, Insurance Business Development - CMHC]

Yes, certainly. Anyone hearing about the Mortgage Consumer Survey for the first time should know that it’s one of the largest, most comprehensive surveys of its kind in Canada. Since 1999, CMHC has been a trusted expert in delivering this research, gathering insights directly from Canadians about homeownership and their mortgage experiences by including homebuyers, refinancers and renewers. The Mortgage Consumer Survey gives industry professionals a good understanding of the needs and expectations Canadians have when they’re buying a home or arranging their mortgage. And with that, they’re able to provide better advice, better service, better products and a better experience overall for Canadians who are going through that mortgage process.

00:13:36:00

[Speaker: Joelle Hamilton, Communications & Marketing - CMHC]

Thank you, Sabrina, for walking us through the key findings of the 2026 Mortgage Consumer Survey. I know it isn’t easy because the survey presents a lot of percentages and proportions, and there’s a lot more that we didn’t discuss today but is available in the full report available on cmhc.ca. I’d also like to thank our viewers for joining us In-House. See you next time.

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