The BC Notaries Association says there were fewer first-time homebuyers in B.C. this year.

Fifty-nine per cent of notaries who were surveyed say they’ve worked with fewer first time buyers in 2018.

President of the BC Notaries Association Dan Boisvert says the largest reason why is stricter mortage rules.

“I think that’s probably having the biggest factor, because it does first-time homebuyers more because they have, generally speaking, less access to increased amounts of down payment.”

Boisvert though is optimistic going forward on the real estate landscape for first-time buyers.

“I think actually that this coming year is gunna be a good year for first-time homebuyers. I think that certainly prices have settled up a little bit, and that market is really starting to stabilize right now,” he says.

“So the mortgage stress test, I mean these types of things in my opinion always sort of ebb and flow. When they get that result, will they probably loosen it up? My guess is they probably will.”

The survey shows that the top-three barriers for first-time buyers in Kamloops are stricter buying rules, rising interest rates and a lack of supply, which is consistent with the top-three barriers for B.C. as a whole.