Hustle & GritWatch us on YouTube
CMHC's 2025 Mortgage Consumer Survey put first-time buyers at 12% of all mortgage transactions — up from 10% in 2024 — with savings, gifts and the FHSA now the dominant paths to a down payment.
of Canadian mortgage transactions in 2025 were first-time homebuyers
— up from 10% in 2024, the largest first-time buyer share CMHC has recorded in recent years.
CMHC, 2025 Mortgage Consumer Survey
Savings remains the single largest source — even though gifts now touch four in ten first-time purchases.
Share of first-time homebuyers citing each source as the single largest contributor to their down payment, 2025. Source: CMHC, 2025 Mortgage Consumer Survey.
First-time buyers are a growing share of the market: 12% of 2025 mortgage transactions were first-time buyers, up from 10% in 2024, even as renewals (65%) remain the dominant transaction type overall.
Savings still beats gifts as the single biggest source: 52% of first-time buyers say savings were their largest down payment contributor, versus 22% who point to a gift or inheritance — though 41% received a gift or inheritance in some form.
The average gift is real money: first-time buyers who received a gift got an average of $74,570, and were more than twice as likely as repeat buyers (41% vs. 20%) to receive one.
Buyers are saving faster than a year ago: average time to save a down payment fell to 3.4 years nationally (3.7 years for first-time buyers specifically), down from 4.2 years in 2024, helped by rule changes and lower rates.
| Down payment source | Share of first-time buyers | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Savings | 52% | Largest single source |
| Gift or inheritance | 22% | Avg. gift: $74,570 |
| Loan | 17% | — |
| Other | 9% | — |
Source: CMHC, 2025 Mortgage Consumer Survey (survey of 3,968 mortgage consumers, January 2–24, 2025).
average time first-time buyers spent renting before their first purchase
CMHC
of first-time buyers paid the maximum price they could afford in 2025
CMHC
of first-time buyers are aged 25–34, the largest single age band
CMHC
of first-time buyers used a gift or inheritance toward their purchase, more than double the repeat-buyer rate
CMHC
First-time buyers now make up a growing, faster-moving slice of the pipeline — and CMHC's data shows most of them are financing with a mix of savings, gifts and program dollars that takes extra documentation to trace and verify. That's exactly the kind of file where fulfillment support pays for itself: gift letters, source-of-funds paperwork and FHSA/HBP proof all add steps a broker juggling a full pipeline can't always absorb alone.
Last updated August 1, 2026. Each figure carries its source; projections are labelled. Page reviewed on every major source release. Information only — not advice.
See how Treadstone can scale your brokerage — a free call, no commitment.