Nearly 33% of all homes in BC and Ontario owned by investors

Example of a single-family house in Vancouver. (Shutterstock)

Newly released data this week by the Canadian Housing Statistics Program of Statistics Canada indicates multi-property owners account for about one-third of all residential properties, and the top 10% wealthiest owners account for about one-quarter of all residential housing value.

Based on their analysis of data for 2020, multi-property owners account for 29% of all homes in British Columbia, and 31% in Ontario.

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Statisticians suggest this has created a wider gap in inequalities, with both income and housing wealth concentrated at the top income earners. Of course, this new data pre-dates the pandemic, which is likely to have further exacerbated and accelerated pre-pandemic housing trends.

For individual owners, the top 10% of owners in BC and Ontario each had annual incomes over $125,000, and the top 10% in BC declared incomes totalling 35% of the total income declared by all owners in the province.

Individual multiple-property owners held 29% of BC’s property stock while accounting for 15% of owners.

“In addition to their primary residences, multiple-property owners hold properties to receive rental income or for other investment purposes, or as a recreational property which may also provide rental income,” state federal statisticians.

“Owners seeking additional properties contribute to increased competition in already tight real estate markets, making it more difficult for prospective homeowners to purchase a home.”

As another sign of the inequalities, the income of the bottom half of owners was under 25% in BC and Ontario, with owners seeing annual incomes below $55,000. The bottom half of owners also had five times as many owners as the top 10%, yet they saw a lower share of total income. The average income in the top 10% of owners was at least five times the average in the bottom half of owners.

Although the inequalities persist, there was an increase in the number of first-time homebuyers between 2018 and 2019. The number of first-time home buyers and investors likely increased over the past two years, with historically low rates intended to stimulate the economy propelling the real estate market across the country.

The median individual income of first-time homebuyers in Vancouver was $65,000 — higher than the $55,000 for all owners.

Interventionist policies on housing demand are being implemented by the federal government under its 2022 budget after home prices across the country soared by 50% over the last two years. A home costs as much as 50% more than what Canadians can afford in the country’s hottest real estate markets.

The Bank of Canada is also making multiple rate hikes this year to help slow down housing demand.

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