Millennials remain hopeful they will be homeowners: Poll
Scott Laurie
The Vancouver Sun
“This generation of Torontonians overwhelmingly desires to be homeowners”: Royal LePage
A home for sale and sold sign in Calgary, May 4, 2021. Photo by Gavin Young /Postmedia Network
The dream of homeownership remains strong among millennials who do not currently own real estate, according to a survey by Royal LePage.
But most believe they would have to move in order to afford a home.
“Many Canadians who are in the stage of life where home-buying is a top priority — especially younger millennials — remain committed to achieving homeownership and are optimistic about the opportunities that lie ahead,” said Royal LePage CEO Phil Soper.
According to the survey, 60% of Canadian millennials — people aged 26-41 — who do not currently own a home, believe they will one day.
Among those respondents, 52% say they would have to relocate in order to achieve this milestone, said the poll, which was conducted by Leger.
Skyrocketing prices have made affordability a major challenge among aspiring home buyers.
The survey also found 57% of Canadian millennials are already homeowners.
About one-quarter of millennials who do not currently own a home believe they never will.
“Policymakers should take note that between millennial demand, immigration and the growing pipeline of those who could not transact over the last two years, more supply is required,” said Soper.
“We could see another surge in price appreciation, following short-term economic softening, when these sidelined purchase intenders transact.”
For the Greater Toronto Area specifically — the survey found 59% of millennials who do not currently own a home believe they will one day. Among those, 63% say they would have to relocate in order to achieve this milestone.
“This generation of Torontonians overwhelmingly desires to be homeowners, and many of them are willing to make concessions in order to get on the real estate ladder,” said Tom Storey, head of The Storey Team, Royal LePage Signature Realty.
According to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, the average price for all home types was about $1.07 million in July. The average price for a single, detached GTA home was nearly $1.4 million.
The online survey of 2003 Canadian millennials using Leger’s online panel was conducted June 10-16. A probability sample of this size would have a margin of error of 2.5%, 19 times out of 20.
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