Why the next few years could be very good for first-time home buyers
In today’s Globe and Mail, personal finance columnist Rob Carrick has some good news for those who have been trying without success to get into Toronto’s housing market before prices rise out of their reach. Carrick writes that, with housing markets cooling in several cities, including Toronto, many are forecasting that prices will plateau or even fall. Meanwhile, interest rates are expected to stay at their current very low levels for a while longer. That means first-time buyers can relax and take some time to build up bigger down payments, thereby saving themselves some money on interest payments and mortgage default insurance—and if new buyers do so en masse, it’ll bring housing prices down even further, saving them even more dough. Read the entire story [Globe and Mail] »
That’s like saying if all RSP buyers hold off on buying stocks for a few years, the stock markets will all fall and they will be able to buy at lower prices later…DUMB! First-time buyers only represent a small segment of the housing market, as RSP buyers do with stocks. Foreign investors, speculators, and people who don’t take Carrick’s advice will all still support prices if they do happen to fall. The collective market, not one segment therein, set the prices.
Oh, I don’t know if FTBers represent a very small segment as you say. I believe the number is closer to 40% of all r/e activity is from FTBers. Also, they fuel the market. If a FTBer can’t get into the property then the upseller and/or downsizer. You’re placing too much stock in foreigners who are fickle and have the world to buy in, and speculators who will be tapped out if/when prices start to drop.