
Among the main conclusions the report shows that immigrants are increasingly looking to settle outside of the major cities and will typically rent for a time before buying. Seniors and aboriginals are also important influences on housing demand.
The agency also notes that there has been a slight improvement in Canadians’ ability to service their mortgage debt but affordability is a major issue for the majority.
On housing starts the report shows that condos accounted for a third of all new starts last year while in the big cities they accounted for more than half; in Vancouver the figure was 62.6 per cent.