More Single Women Entering the Housing Market Every Year

Woman by David

Women seem to be keen first-time homebuyers, as the 19th Annual RBC Homeownership Poll shows. While only 35 per cent of men plan to buy their first home within the next two years, almost half of women want to invest in realty. When asked for reasons why they haven’t bought a home before, 47 per cent of both sexes stated concerns about affordability in the first place. However, women outranked men in all three reasons by approximately 10 per cent (not interested/feeling ready for homeownership, unsure of job security, and saving for a large down payment), which could explain the poll results.

Marcia Moffat, head of home equity financing, RBC, commented on the findings: “We are seeing more single women entering into the housing market, as income levels, changing demographics, and lifestyle patterns shift purchasing habits.”

Homeownership graphs Canada

The poll also reveals that about 40 per cent of respondents from both sexes are comfortable with getting a fixed mortgage, as buyers try to benefit from historically low interest rates. When it comes to a combination mortgage (mix of fixed and variable rate features), women are more likely to consider taking it on. At this moment, the best variable closed mortgage rate for three years is 3.00 per cent, while the five-year variable closed rate is 2.65. The best variable open mortgage rates in Ontario are set at 4 per cent for both three- and five-year periods. One-year mortgages stayed as low as usual, as one-year fixed closed mortgage reached 2.79 per cent. It’s expected that the Bank of Canada will hike interest rates up at the end of the summer, so the mortgage honeymoon might be over soon.