Nearly 83 per cent of the condominium owning households in Vancouver and Toronto live in their unit, with the remaining 17.1 per cent being investors, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) 2013 Condominium Owners Survey released August 8.
Of that 17.1 per cent, only about half of those investors said they rent out their last purchased unit.
CMHC's survey also found that, of the surveyed condo investors in Vancouver and Toronto:
- 58.4 per cent expect to keep their last purchased unit for more than five years;
- 17.9 per cent for two to five years;
- 7.6 per cent for less than two years, and 16.1 per cent did not know or answer; and
- 11.9 per cent of respondents said they bought their last secondary condominium unit with the intention of reselling it for a profit within a year of purchase.
In addition, at the time of the survey, 42.1% of the investor households surveyed had no mortgage on their last purchased condo.
"As information on condominium investment is rather limited at this time, CMHC has gathered new data on a segment of domestic condominium investment activity in Toronto and Vancouver," said Bob Dugan, chief economist at CMHC's Market Analysis Centre.
"While the results are not representative of other markets or all types of investors, the survey helps to shed some light on the profile and purchasing motivations of a segment of condominium investors in Toronto and Vancouver."
The survey did not cover Canadian households that own condominium units in Toronto or Vancouver but do not reside in these CMAs. Foreign investors and corporate investors are also not covered by the survey.
"CMHC continues to explore opportunities to enhance the availability of information on foreign and corporate investment activities in the housing market," added Dugan.
