Hunting for a deal: Three first-time homebuyers tell their stories about Canada’s crazy housing market

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Millicent Wong
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from RBC Mortgages

  1. property
  2. First time home buyers

Listen to this podcast as the Financial Post’s Gabriel Friedman talks to real people about the trials and tribulations of buying a home in Canada

Three different first-time homebuyers share three vastly different experiences of the Canadian housing market. Three different first-time homebuyers share three vastly different experiences of the Canadian housing market. Photo by Getty Images/Financial Post Photo illustration

Canada’s housing market is crazy.

It must be repeated: people spend years saving and saving for a down payment, and prices continue to rise. By the time a person is ready to buy, prices have risen so much that all bets are closed. You’ve never spent so much money on anything in your entire life, and the first thing you learn is that whatever you want, you have to compromise.

And yet many Canadians relish doing so. Why?

The Financial Post’s Gabriel Friedman explores these questions and more as part of a Postmedia-exclusive first-time buyer’s guide, a series of local guides created by our reporters in cities across the country, curated for hopeful readers who venture into the unfathomable want housing market for the first time.

From the longtime homeowner with children, to the family newly arrived in Canada, to the new grad hoping to break into the condo market in the near future, we hope our guides have something of value for anyone looking to cross this milestone.

Hear below as Friedman speaks to three different first-time homebuyers with three vastly different experiences about why they chose to wade into the fast-moving river commonly known as Canada’s real estate market.

Guests include Sumi Ragu from Brampton, Ontario, Ziggy Linklater from Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, and Amanda and Joseph Di Rocco from Aurora, Ontario.

If you want more information on how Canadian incomes have performed relative to home prices, read this article by my colleague Deb Stokes.

Buying a home can be overwhelming – so we’ve created a two-week newsletter course to guide you through the many steps and decisions. The course is created by National Post columnist Tristin Hopper, who has had the dubious fortune of being raised by real estate professionals and has also owned (and renovated) a few homes of her own. But he’ll source a galaxy of experts and stats for the course, so you don’t have to worry about taking his word for it. Sign up now, it’s free!