BY MARIO TONEGUZZI, CALGARY HERALD JUNE 9, 2009 8:01 AM
CALGARY - A national consumer survey released today says nearly 90 per cent of recent home purchasers believe that home ownership is a good long-term investment and almost 70 per cent think that now is a good time to purchase a home.

The 2009 Mortgage Consumer Survey by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., also indiciate that recent purchasers are knowledgeable about the mortgage process and their lender's assessment of eligibility - 86 per cent say that the level of total housing and other monthly payments should generally not exceed 40 per cent of gross household income.

“Given the current economy, this study indicates that Canadians continue to be optimistic about homeownership and are astute mortgage consumers,” said François Blouin, director of insurance products and strategic direction for the CMHC. “Our results reaffirm what we have seen in previous surveys — when it comes to their mortgages, Canadians are informed and manage their debt prudently.” According to the survey, 75 per cent of purchasers have a goal to be mortgage free sooner than their original amortization. In fact, 20 per cent of recent purchasers report having made a lump sum payment to their mortgage.

mtoneguzzi@theherald.canwest.com
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