Quebec leads surge in home renovations

October 25, 2021




Quebec is posting the largest increase in home renovation loan applications of any province in Canada this year, according to fresh data from non-bank mortgage provider Simply Group. The firm handles more than $3 billion home equity loans annually for about 500,000 Canadians. It compared home improvement applications across Canada from the first (Q1) and second quarter (Q2) of 2021.
Simply Group found that Quebec saw a 96 per cent increase in home renovation loan applications in Q2 compared to Q1. Alberta followed with a 40 per cent increase in applications. Ontario was third with a 12 per cent increase on loan applications.
“This provincial breakdown suggests growth of home-improvement financing in Quebec—a trend that we expect to see continue through the remainder of the year,” said Simply Group CEO Lawrence Krimker.
Nationally, Simply Group saw around a 30 per cent increase in home renovation loan applications in Q2 when compared to Q1. This trend continued through August 2021, which reported a 15 per cent increase in loan applications compared to the previous month.
Most home renovations are concentrated on essentials rather than esthetics, the study found. Loan applications for essential renovations, such as roofing, windows and doors, grew by 36 per cent in the Q2 over Q1. Non-essential loan applications, for kitchen and bath upgrades for instance, grew around 23 per cent during the same period.
Krimker suggested non-essential upgrades are being led by owners trying to get the maximum price for a home they are aiming to sell.