The survey, conducted in June by polling firm Leger on behalf of Royal LePage, asked 2,003 Canadian millennials (defined as residents between the ages of 26 and 41) about their views on home ownership, the cost of living and remote work. Of those who responded, 403 were in Toronto. About 74 per cent of respondents in Toronto said owning a home is important to them, but only 22 per cent said they think they will ever buy a property in the city. About 37 per cent of Toronto millennials surveyed said they think they will need to move to ever become a home owner. The results suggest that these views may be linked to respondents’ stagnant incomes. “This overwhelming feeling that you can solve problems by moving is an offshoot of the pandemic,” said Phil Soper, CEO of Royal LePage. Soper says COVID-19 has caused a work-from-home movement with people choosing to move to other parts of the province — even to other parts of the country. But he says for many others, it’s not a solution. Four out of five respondents said that if cost of living were not an issue, they would choose to continue living in Toronto. But nearly half said they didn’t think their wages would rise at a rate that would allow them to buy a home in the city. Responses from respondents in Toronto reflect similar sentiments among millennials across the country. In Canada, 68 percent of respondents said owning a home is important to them, but only 29 percent said they think it could happen in their current city or town. About 31 percent said they would have to move to make home ownership a reality. Despite recent declines due in part to higher interest rates, the median price to buy a single-family home in Toronto remains well above $1.5 million, according to the most recent MLS Home Price Index. The median price of an apartment in the city is nearly $780,000, while the median rent across all housing types is over $2,100 per month.
Buying a home is still a sign you’ve made it, says the realtor
Andrew Ipekian, a real estate agent in the city, says the survey results are no surprise. He says many millennials were sold on the idea of owning a home, along with the traditional white picket fence, as they grew up. “Everybody still wants it,” Ipekian said. “And in today’s society – especially in Canada – that’s when you know you’ve made it.” Toronto real estate agent Andrew Ipekian says those looking to buy a home in today’s market are calling on their parents for help or pooling funds with other people, even if they’re not married. (Talia Ricci/CBC) Ipekian says people who can work from home can also take advantage of opportunities to live outside the city, which often comes with more space at a somewhat cheaper price. The survey found that nearly half of Toronto millennials surveyed would consider switching employers to telecommute full-time, and that 23% find their ideal work-life scenario living outside the city with a telecommuting arrangement . They cite long commute times, high commuting costs, and the ability to manage their household as the top three motivations for wanting more remote work. “The reality is that a lot of people are realizing that if they can work from home, why live in a shoebox apartment?” Ipekian said.
House hunters share their struggles
Last year, Fiona Lacey lived in a 500-square-foot. apartment in Toronto with her boyfriend. After the pandemic hit and he started working mostly from home, he realized that things could be better elsewhere. “I’ve always dreamed of having a yard and having more space for our hobbies and interests,” Lacey said. Today, Lacey lives with her boyfriend in Hamilton and says she has no regrets about the move. She has her own office for work, a yard for gardening and loves being able to work on house projects — all things out of reach in Toronto. “We knew Toronto wasn’t going to happen for us,” Lacey said. Meanwhile, Bennett Jull moved to Toronto near the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and has been saving to buy his own home in the city ever since. But whenever he comes across a property he likes, he says bidding wars of hundreds of thousands of dollars asking have left him out of the price. Bennett Jull is a Toronto renter hoping to buy a property in the city. Even though some of his friends have moved out of town for housing, he hopes he doesn’t have to. (Talia Ricci/CBC) “It’s $4 to $500,000 more and pretty quickly I’m like, yeah, I’ve got to see myself out of it,” Jull said. For him, buying his own place means he can stop paying rent. “It doesn’t make sense to keep throwing money away every month if you can put it towards a mortgage,” Jull said. “Hopefully the market enables young people to have that opportunity and hopefully it will come sooner rather than later for me.”
