25% of Canadian millennials don't think they'll ever own a home

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One-quarter of Canadian millennials don’t believe they will ever own a home.

According to a recent Royal LePage survey, 25% of Canadians aged 27 to 41 don’t see the milestone in their future. In Toronto, the figure is even higher, at 28%.

Twenty-two per cent of Calgary-based millennials share the sentiment, as do 21% of those in Vancouver. Just 12% of Montreal’s millennials don’t think they’ll ever own a home.

While the majority (60%) of Canadian millennials do believe they’ll one day own a home, 31% think they would have to relocate to do so.

Locally, 45% of Montreal-based millennials believe they’d have to relocate to buy a home, while 37% of Torontonians, 35% of Vancouverites, and 19% of Calgarians feel the same way.

“Many Canadians who are in the stage of life where homebuying is a top priority, especially younger millennials, remain committed to achieving home ownership and are optimistic about the opportunities that lie ahead,” said Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage.

“[This is] due in large part to the example of their parents and family members who have reaped the benefits of our nation’s historically strong real estate market.”

According to the survey, 57% of Canadian millennials are already homeowners, while 23% plan to buy their first home within the next five years. Of those looking to purchase property, and the 17% who already own a home and want to move, 41% plan to relocate.

“The need for a significant increase in the supply of housing in Canada has not gone away,” Soper said.

“While we are currently seeing a slowdown in market activity… we expect that activity will rise again, although not at the same rate we saw throughout 2021 and early 2022.”

The return of sidelined buyers, coupled with increased immigration levels and household formation changes, “will require more available housing stock to ensure a balanced market and to help bring affordability back within reach of many Canadians,” he continued.

Competition and bidding wars may have eased in recent months, but young buyers continue to face “significant” affordability challenges due to rising interest rates. Still, 68% of millennials believe that owning a home is important.

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Seventy-two per cent of Canadian millennials said that if the cost of living were not an issue, they would choose to remain in the city or town where they currently reside.

However, 46% don’t believe their salaries will increase at a rate that will allow them to buy a home where they live. In Vancouver, the figure is 58%, in Montreal, it’s 54%, in Toronto, it’s 48%, and in Calgary, it’s 44%.

Royal LePage noted that the response is “reflective of lifestyle choice, rather than proximity to their place of work”: 40% said they’d change employers in order to work fully remotely.

The top motivators for working from home were high commuting costs, long commuting times and traffic, and the ability to manage household duties from home.

When asked what their ideal work/life scenario would be, the most popular response was living outside the city and working fully remotely.

“The irreversible impact that the pandemic has had on our workforce and the manner in which employees do their jobs sparked a shift in the mentality of many Canadians, especially young professionals, who are reprioritizing their lives and their plans for the future,” Soper said.

“Strong real estate demand is no longer concentrated in the major centres, but has expanded to many suburbs and exurbs where homebuyers can purchase larger, more affordable properties, as the tolerance for commuting wanes and the desire to have more flexibility in the hours and location one works increases.”

Between the growing millennial desire for housing, increased immigration, and the pent-up demand of those unable to purchase property over the last two years, “more supply is required,” Soper said, urging policymakers to take note.

“We could see another surge in price appreciation, following short-term economic softening, when these sidelined purchase intenders transact,” he warned.