Canada saw another house prices surge in March by 0.8 percent, The Globe and Mail reported. This is the largest increase the market has recorded for a month in eight years.
The report noted that the House Price Index showed Vancouver to be the main contributor to the jump with 17.3 percent price change year over year. Hamilton comes second with 10.5 percent price change, followed by Toronto with 9 percent and Victoria with 8.5 percent.
As the prices soar and the market boom continues in major Canadian regions, all the more that it become unaffordable for first-time buyers. A report from CBC News said that the sky-high prices and mortgage insurance prompt some buyers to share a purchase with their friends just to be able to enter the market.
Buying a home with a friend or family member is meant to be temporary for some, but with the high costs of owning a house, they may have to stay put together and invest in their property instead of selling them, per CBC News.
The publication quoted Erica Nielsen, vice-president of home equity finance at the Royal Bank of Canada, saying, "Particularly in some of the larger markets in Canada, affording that first home or condo is increasingly more challenging."
While purchasing a home with a friend or family can help first-time buyers penetrate the housing market, it doesn't come without a risk. For instance, when a partner gets into financial difficulty such as losing a job and could not keep up with his share of mortgage payments, it will impact his partner's finances as well.
So if you're considering such option, it would be better to choose your partner well and hire a lawyer to put into writing all your agreements. That would form some kind of insurance for both parties in case something unfortunate happened.
