Ninety per cent of house-hunting Canadians value affordability and location over resale value, according to a new BMO Bank of Montreal survey released this morning.
The survey, conducted by Leger Marketing, shows 92% of Canadians planning to buy a home in the next two years are honing in on price and 91% on location, versus just 60% who consider resale value.
Women, the survey noted, value resale more than men, with 63% of women saying they’re likely to make a decision based on resale value versus 57% of men.
The survey found that intuition ranks higher than resale value as well, with 67% of Canadians claiming that “a good feeling” toward the home is an important factor in their decision making process.
BMO’s head of mortgage products, Katie Archdekin, cautioned that Canadians need to be realistic when house hunting.
“It’s easy to become attached to that perfect house in the ideal location” she said, “but in today’s market, it’s important to take a practical approach and carefully examine the emotional aspects of the purchase,” she said.
Archdekin advised Canadians looking to buy a home this spring to stress test their budget using a mortgage payment based on a higher interest rate. She said housing costs should not consume more than one-third of household income.
Calls to BMO for comment were not returned by press deadline.