First time homebuyers dissapointed

From the Vancouver Sun:

"..the rate at which people are buying their own property is growing faster than the population.

However, particularly in B.C.'s high-priced markets, the buyers aren't getting exactly the property they want where they want to live.

Century 21 Canada president Don Lawby, in an interview, said buying habits are changing because "that's just the reality of the marketplace today, for first-time buyers especially."

The article goes on to mention some of the interesting ways that buying habits are changing in 'the marketplace today':

Kevin Lutz, B.C. mortgage manager for the Royal Bank, said 75 to 80 per cent of his bank's first-time borrowers in B.C. are taking mortgages with 40-year amortizations, and a higher proportion are coming with less than a 25-per-cent down payment.

In Vancouver, Julie Jaggernath, director of education at the Credit Counseling Society, said her office is "a little bit busier than we were last year," with clients including those who have gotten in over their heads buying property or upsizing their homes.

"We're also seeing people spending about 70 per cent of their income on housing and housing-related costs," Jaggernath said. "That's a lot."

40 year terms are the new standard? less than 25% down? 70% of income on housing?

Wow.