More first-time homebuyers need help from their parents to purchase a property in the Okanagan/Kamloops region (file)

More first-time homebuyers need help from their parents to purchase a property in the Okanagan/Kamloops region (file)

86 per cent of first-time homebuyers in Okanagan need financial help to buy home: Report

Report says mortgage restrictions, interest rates and lack of supply attributing to financial pressures

  • Dec. 30, 2019 12:00 a.m.

Purchasing a house has become increasingly harder for first-time homebuyers in B.C., even more so for those living in the Okanagan/Kamloops region.

According to a recent 2019 BC Notaries Association real estate report, more first-time homebuyers in the Okanagan/Kamloops region are requiring financial help from their parents to buy a property.

In 2019, the report said 86 per cent of notories reported that first-time homebuyers required financial help from their parents to secure a down payment for a home. Out of those homebuyers, 92 per cent needed help with a down payment of less than 25 per cent.

READ MORE: Central Okanagan residents need to make $52,000 annually to live comfortably: report

Between 2015 and 2019, the report there were three per cent more first-time homebuyers requiring financial support to secure a down payment.

Of the 12 Okanagan/Kamloops notaries that participated in the report, half also reported a decrease in first-time homebuyer activity.

The report said increased mortgage restrictions, rising interest rates and lack of supply were some of the biggest hurdles for first-time homebuyers trying to enter the Okanagan/Kamloops real estate market.

Across the province, 90 per cent of first-time homebuyers needed help from their parents to secure a home in 2019.

Between 2012 and 2018, a single-detached home in the increased by 70 per cent to $779,000, in the Central Okanagan.


@connortrembleyconnor.trembley@kelownacapnews.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Kelowna Capital News