Amidst rising prices and dwindling inventory, it’s no secret that buying a home in Canada has become increasingly difficult, particularly for first-time buyers looking to get their foot on the property ladder.

Hoping to help their loved ones set down roots in a home of their own, parents and family members have been known to contribute to the sizable down payment required for a property purchase.

According to a recent CIBC In Focus report penned by deputy chief economist of CIBC Capital Markets Benjamin Tal, that monetary contribution has amounted to billions of dollars.

Using CIBC data, the research report estimates that over the past year, financial gifting for home purchases has amounted to just over $10 billion. This accounts for 10 per cent of the total down payments in the market as a whole during that time period.

The number of first-time home buyers that received help from family members was just under 30 per cent this past year, Tal said. Surprisingly, the share of new buyers receiving help did not grow during the pandemic.

Giving money for a downpayment is nothing new. In 2015, approximately 20 per cent of first-time buyers got financial assistance from family. Back then, the size of a financial gift was approximately $52,000, an amount that has now swelled to a record-high average of $82,000.

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