Help with down payment now essential for many homebuyers: survey

“Down payment assistance is no longer a backup plan — it’s a requirement for many Canadians hoping to buy,” said Lauren van den Berg, president and CEO of Mortgage Professionals Canada, in a statement. 

The survey comes as many Canadians find themselves priced out of the housing market despite a decline in home prices and a string of Bank of Canada interest rate cuts over the past year. 

The report, which surveyed 2,000 Canadians, also found one in five homeowners who have an upcoming mortgage renewal feel anxious about what their new payments could look like. 

A Royal LePage report published in February estimated 1.2 million mortgages are up for renewal this year. Around 85 per cent of those were secured when the Bank of Canada’s key policy rate sunk to historically low levels — at or below one per cent — during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Mortgage Professionals Canada survey found 68 per cent of borrowers said they prefer having a fixed-rate mortgage over a variable rate.

Meanwhile, the report shows variable-rate holders were nearly twice as likely as fixed-rate borrowers to make extra payments.

More than 70 per cent of homeowners also said they’ve either recently renovated or plan to renovate their homes, while a growing number say they would need to rely on rental income to help cover housing costs, the survey found.

It also added 34 per cent of Canadians were highly concerned about rising mortgage fraud, up from 29 per cent from a year ago. 

Mortgage fraud “artificially inflates home prices, and makes it more difficult for honest, hardworking Canadians who rely on legitimate income and savings to compete and enter the housing market,” said van den Berg.

She said the agency has urged the government to enable income verification that’s safe, fast, and fair. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 17, 2025.