It looks like housing affordability is so bad that Ontario’s younger generations don’t even see owning a home as a possibility anymore — despite the majority still saying that home ownership is a priority. A new report about home ownership and young Canadians showed that 26 per cent of Canadians between 18 and 38 who prioritize homeownership are unsure if it’s achievable, while 20 per cent don’t believe it is achievable at all for them. But young Ontarians seemed to be a bit more pessimistic about this goal among all regions in Canada, as they were the least likely out of all survey respondents to say owning a home is achievable.
The Royal LePage survey asked the adult gen Z and young millennial cohort (those aged 18 to 38 or born between 1986 and 2006) about home ownership and whether it’s an attainable or worthwhile investment.
In Ontario, 82 per cent of respondents said that they believe that home ownership is a worthwhile investment, and of those who do not currently own a primary residence, 75 per cent said that owning a home is a priority for them.
Still, only less than half of respondents (47 per cent) — which was the lowest among all regions in Canada — believe that home ownership is achievable; 27 per cent of young Ontarians don’t believe it’s achievable for them at all, while 26 per cent aren’t sure.
When asked why homeownership is important (respondents were able to choose more than one answer), the majority (65 per cent) of respondents in Ontario said they desire a permanent place to live in that’s their own and that owning a home provides stability (62 per cent), while 52 per cent said that renting is “restrictive” due to tenant-landlord policies.
According to Tom Storey, sales representative at Royal LePage Signature Realty, many young buyers are coming to the table highly educated due to the amount of information and data about the market available online and on social media.
“They’ve done their research, they’re asking all the right questions and are prepared to do what’s necessary in order to get on the property ladder, even if they realize it will take longer for them than it did for their parents,” Storey said in a statement.
The survey showed that young Canadians across the country are making sacrifices to reach home ownership goals, with almost half (47 percent) regularly saving a portion of their earnings for a down payment and 30 per cent living with family and saving for a down payment, paying little to no rent.
Twenty-seven per cent of respondents have even delayed or stopped travelling altogether to save for the purchase of a home, while 21 per cent have delayed (or decided not to buy) smaller but meaningful purchases, like a car.
While the gen Z/millennial cohort is still relatively young, 14 per cent have refrained from starting a family and 11 per cent have delayed or stopped saving for their retirement in order to save for a home.
“In pursuit of home ownership, many young people are not only pausing small daily indulgences but also making compromises that impact their long-term financial stability. This includes sacrifices like delaying education and retirement savings, and putting off other major investments,” Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage said in a statement. “If policy makers needed yet another example of the impact of our nation’s chronic housing supply crisis on the financial security and well-being of young people, this is it.”
Even delaying other purchases might not be enough to purchase a property in Ontario these days. Another recent survey shows that half (50 per cent) of Canadians under 65 say inflation is eroding their ability to save for a home, and about 57 per cent would need a side hustle or a second job to afford one. In Toronto, in particular, over the past thirty years, the average price of a home in the city has increased by 205 per cent, outpacing the growth in median household income.
