"Throughout the province, 58 per cent of homeowners have a mortgage versus the 42 per cent of homeowners who are mortgage-free.
The three communities in B.C. with the highest percentages of mortgage holders are Fort St. John, the City of Langley and Surrey.
Fort St. John has by far the highest proportion of mortgages, with 76 per cent of homeowners being mortgage holders.
In comparison, only 44 per cent of West Vancouver homeowners have a mortgage, the lowest percentage in the province. The regional district of Powell River is second with 46 per cent and Sechelt is third with 47 per cent.
Those areas with higher home prices, like West Vancouver, have lower percentages of mortgage holders " (Wilson, 2023).
“But if you look at the places that have a high percentage of mortgage holders, areas like Surrey, Port Coquitlam, New Westminster, Abbotsford, those are the relatively more affordable areas of the Lower Mainland."
To compare, in the City of Surrey, where 68 per cent of homeowners have a mortgage, there are 72,580 people between the ages of 30 and 39, according to Statistics Canada. In West Vancouver, there are only 2,615 people within that age group.
An Article by Claire Wilson
Cities on the periphery of large census metropolitan areas, who have a higher percentage of younger and new homeowners, have higher numbers of mortgage holders, according to Statistics Canada census data provided to Glacier Media by Andy Yan, director of Simon Fraser University’s City Program.
B.C.’s younger communities are under increasing pressure from rate hikes, data reveals Suburban and periphery cities have a higher number of mortgage holders, according to census data.
If you would like to learn more about BC'S housing market. Or if you are thinking about buying or selling your properties, please don't hesitate to reach out to top West Vancouver Waterfront Realtor, Matt Gul with any of your questions regarding buying or listing your home and questions relating to Canada's current housing market as well as ways to appeal your housing assessment.
Wilson, Claire. (2023). Real Estate. Biv. Retrieved From: https://biv.com/article/2023/02/bcs-younger-communities-under-increasing-pressure-rate-hikes-data-reveals