Canadians see home ownership as an important long-term financial goal while maintaining reasonable debt obligations, found a new report by the Mortgage Professionals of Canada (MPC) released on March 12.

The top four considerations for Canadian homebuyers were monthly carrying costs, down payment savings, the potential change in house prices, and potential future earnings, said Paul Taylor, CEO of MPC.

"Despite the narrative in higher-priced housing markets that the primary driver for homebuyers is a 'fear of missing out' phenomenon, our report which included a wide survey of Canadians in these regions in fact ranked the 'prestige' of home ownership dead last on a list of 18 considerations," he said.

Canadian homeowners’ “aggressive mortgage repayments” in a low interest rate environment lessens the impacts of overall mortgage growth, said Will Dunning, MPC chief economist and the report's author.

"Canadians pay off their mortgages much quicker than their original amortization, and each year 1 in 3 borrowers making some additional contribution to accelerate their repayment schedule," he said.

To learn more, consult the report here.