Where does the down payment come from?

It may surprise you to learn that the average down payment for Canadian homebuyers is just under $120,000, or one-third of the purchase price of the home. A recent report released by the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals (CAAMP) has uncovered a plethora of data about home buying trends in the country, including from where exactly Canadians are receiving the funds to put towards a down payment. The results are interesting. Around 56% of total down payments came from personal savings for all homebuyers, whether it was their first time purchasing a home or their second. The second largest source of money came from “other” sources, mainly funds procured from the sale of an existing home, which was obviously a bigger factor for second-time and subsequent home buyers. Family members and parents accounted for 7% of total down payments, 5% being in the form of gifts and 2% through loans. As expected, family played a much bigger role in funding down payments for first-time buyers than second-time or subsequent buyers. Loans from financial institutions were also the source of 7% of all down payments. Along with mum and dad, first-time buyers relied significantly on withdrawals from their RRSPs to fund their down payments, whereas second-time and subsequent buyers did not. According to the report, 45% of purchases were made by first-time buyers, most of which are between the ages of 25 and 34, and the average down payment is $67,060. Have a look at the chart below to learn more: