AI Coach & Top Brokerage Tackle Canada's Homebuyer Readiness Gap

By Patrick Walker

MONTREAL and VANCOUVER – January 19, 2026 – A significant new partnership is poised to reshape how Canadians prepare for their biggest financial decision. Homie, a financial technology firm, has joined forces with TMG – The Mortgage Group, Canada's largest independent mortgage brokerage, to tackle a widespread problem: the gap between dreaming of homeownership and being financially ready to achieve it. The collaboration will provide aspiring homeowners free access to Homie's AI-powered iOS app through TMG's vast network, aiming to turn tentative interest into mortgage-ready confidence.

This initiative directly confronts a well-documented anxiety among prospective buyers. A 2024 survey by TD Bank Group revealed that a staggering 69% of would-be homeowners lack a financial plan, and 85% feel uncomfortable with the mortgage process. By combining Homie's adaptive planning technology with the human expertise of TMG's more than 1,700 mortgage professionals, the partnership seeks to create a more supportive and efficient path to buying a home.

Bridging the Confidence Gap

The dream of owning a home remains a cornerstone of the Canadian identity, with 74% of prospective buyers hoping to purchase a property within the next five years. However, the journey is fraught with financial uncertainty. Beyond the headline-grabbing statistics on planning and comfort levels, further data paints a detailed picture of the modern homebuyer's struggle. According to a 2025 NerdWallet Canada report, while 54% of Canadians plan to buy a home, only 62% of that group have actually started saving for a down payment.

This preparation phase is often a multi-year marathon. Research from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) shows that homebuyers save for an average of 4.2 years to accumulate their down payment. For many, this long road is navigated with little guidance. The TD survey noted that 72% of Canadians had not sought any professional advice about the process, despite 95% harboring concerns about everything from affordability to understanding complex mortgage products.

The partnership between Homie and TMG is designed to intervene during this critical, often-isolating period. It offers a structured educational tool to a market that is actively seeking solutions. Recent data shows that 56% of aspiring buyers are already cutting non-essential expenses and 32% are looking for professional guidance. This initiative provides a direct answer to that need, offering a digital coach to help users improve their credit, build their savings, and understand their true buying power long before they are ready to sign an offer.

A New Playbook for Mortgage Brokers

For TMG The Mortgage Group, which funds over $15 billion in mortgages annually, the partnership represents a strategic evolution in client engagement. The collaboration equips its brokers with a powerful tool to nurture leads that are not yet mortgage-ready, a common challenge in the industry.

"We are providing our network and their clients with free access to an iOS app that turns curiosity into readiness," said Christa Mitchell, SVP Strategic Initiatives at TMG. "That results in better-prepared buyers and more efficient use of broker time."

The model is built on a concept TMG President & COO Dan Pultr calls a "value-add boomerang." A broker can refer a client who is interested but financially unprepared to the Homie app. The app then provides personalized coaching and tracks the user's progress. When the client becomes qualified and signals their readiness to proceed, Homie facilitates a "smart handoff," alerting the original TMG broker to re-engage.

"We share a client that's just not ready to buy, and Homie brings us back a borrower that's ready to buy today," explained Pultr. "By helping Canadians plan and stay accountable earlier, clients arrive confident and prepared. That is better for the client and better for our conversion."

This system allows brokers to maintain a connection with a wider pool of potential clients without investing significant time in those who are months or years away from transacting. TMG is providing its agents with customized, co-branded links to share with clients, creating a seamless onboarding experience that keeps the broker's personal brand front and center.

How AI Is Rewriting the Mortgage Application

At the heart of this strategy is Homie's technology. While countless online mortgage calculators exist—used by an estimated 70% of mortgage consumers historically—Homie aims to move beyond static snapshots of affordability. By integrating with financial data providers like Equifax and Plaid, the app uses real-time information to power its AI-driven coaching.

"Static calculators tell you where you are. Homie tells you what to do next," said Andrew Peker, CEO and co-founder of Homie. "With TMG, Canadians get a plan that adapts to their real finances and a broker who steps in when it counts."

This adaptive planning is the app's core differentiator in a growing fintech market. While competitors like Pineapple Financial and Homewise offer digital-first mortgage brokerage services, and tools from WOWA or the Canadian Mortgage App provide robust calculators, Homie carves out a niche by focusing specifically on the pre-qualification journey. It is not a lender or a broker itself, but an educational tool designed to graduate users to a state of mortgage readiness.

The AI analyzes a user's income, credit profile, and savings habits to create a personalized roadmap. It might suggest specific actions to improve a credit score, model different savings scenarios to accelerate down payment accumulation, or illustrate how changes in income could expand their purchasing power. For TMG, which holds exclusive rights to the app within the brokerage channel for the first three months, this offers a unique value proposition to both its brokers and their clients.

This partnership reflects a broader trend of digitalization transforming the Canadian mortgage landscape. Technology is increasingly being used to create a more efficient, transparent, and personalized experience for borrowers. However, the Homie-TMG model underscores a crucial insight: technology is most powerful when it complements, rather than replaces, human expertise. By automating the long-term planning and education, the app frees up brokers to focus on providing high-value advice and complex transaction management when clients need it most, creating a hybrid approach that could set a new industry standard.