SURVEY: Canadians Jumping Into Mortgages Way Too Quickly

Canadians spend nearly as much time deciding on a new piece of furniture as they do selecting their mortgage

CNW - TORONTO (September 21, 2016) – A new Ipsos survey commissioned by LowestRates.ca, a personal finance comparison site, shows Canadians are jumping into their mortgage way too quickly. While smart financial decision-making is perceived to be very important, the survey found Canadians’ financial behaviours are actually on auto-pilot.

67 per cent of Canadians believe their mortgage is a very important life decision, but embarrassingly, Canadians spend nearly as much time deciding on a new piece of furniture for their home (4.5 hrs) as they do their mortgage (5.75 hrs), and significantly more time planning their next vacation (7.75 hrs).

The key issue may be Canadians’ blind loyalty to the big banks. The majority of Canadians are simply not shopping around before signing a mortgage, potentially costing them $30,000+ over the lifetime of a mortgage.

Key findings include:

  • 2 in 5 Canadians did not consult with any other service than the one that sold them their mortgage
  • 67% end up sourcing their mortgage through a bank, followed by only 22% who sourced through a mortgage broker and 13% through a credit union.
  • Only 8% used a rate comparison site to source their most recent mortgage, even though 60% said they’d be likely to use one in the future

SURVEY: Canadians Are Jumping Into #Mortgage Too Quickly via @LowestRates_ca

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“Finding the best mortgage rate isn’t something to be taken lightly or without unbiased consultation, yet many Canadians are on auto-pilot when it comes to a major financial decision like this,” said Justin Thouin, CEO, LowestRates.ca. “The banks are not always on your side when it comes to securing the best rate. We are trying to educate people about their options during their search.”

Rate comparison sites like LowestRates.ca have yet to become as ubiquitous as travel comparison sites like Expedia. However, in other countries like the UK, these sites are a go-to resource for personal finance options. In Canada, millennials are most comfortable using rate comparison sites with 18 per cent between the ages of 18-34 using the sites to source their mortgage, compared to only 6 per cent between 35-54 and 4 per cent who are 55+.

LowestRates.ca, a FinTech company, offers a technology that aims to disrupt how Canadians approach mortgages, insurance, and credit cards by providing unbiased options from Canada’s leading financial institutions, all online, in one place.

To view the full report Are Canadians Making Embarrassing Financial Decisions?, visit http://www.lowestrates.ca/sites/default/files/canadian-financial/Are-Canadians-Making-Embarrassing-Financial-Decisions.pdf

About LowestRates.ca
Based in Toronto, ON, and founded in 2012, LowestRates.ca provides a free, independent service that helps consumers save time and money by comparing personal financial products from Canada’s leading financial institutions.

About the Survey
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between June 30 – July 11, 2016 on behalf of Lowest Rates Inc. For this survey, a sample of 2,501 Canadians from Ipsos' online panel were interviewed online. The poll is accurate to within +/ - 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadian adults been polled.

For more information, please contact:

Linda North (for LowestRates.ca)
416-708-8012
[email protected]