Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) released the results of its 2014 Condominium Owners Survey (COS) for Toronto and Vancouver today.

The COS is part of CMHC’s program of work on better understanding the role and prevalence of investors in Canadian housing markets.

The report includes survey insights on what motivates condo purchases, how long owners hold on to their units, and the borrower profile of condominium owners whose primary dwelling is a freehold or condominium unit but who also own at least one secondary unit that is a condominium.

For reporting purposes, such households are referred to in the report as COS investors.

“Our results show that most COS investors are in the market for the long term and expect to keep their last purchased secondary unit for more than five years,” said Robyn Adamache, CMHC Principal Market Analyst for Vancouver. “Many have had their last unit for six years or longer”.

“The results illustrate that most COS investors own few units. In fact, nearly three-quarters of COS investors own only one secondary unit, while 10 per cent own three or more secondary units,’’ said Dana Senagama, CMHC Principal Market Analyst for Toronto. “And 90 per cent don’t anticipate purchasing more units within the next year.’’

Survey results also showed that slightly over half of the COS investors reported their last purchased unit as rented out and 33 per cent reported these units to be occupied by family, relatives, or by the investor. About four per cent of the last purchased units were under construction or in the pre-sale phase of the project. The remainder were reported as vacant because either they were for sale, available for rent, or undergoing renovation.

COS investors, as defined by CMHC, exclude households that own only one condominium unit in which they reside, as well as households that own a secondary unit but rent their primary residence.

Due to survey design and cost considerations, the Condo Owners Survey does not cover foreign investors, corporate investors, and Canadian households that own condominium units in Toronto and Vancouver but do not reside in these CMAs.

The full text of this report is available here Condo Owners Survey.

As Canada’s authority on housing, CMHC contributes to the stability of the housing market and financial system, provides support for Canadians in housing need, and offers objective housing research and information to Canadian governments, consumers and the housing industry.