As home prices continue to rise year-over-year across the province, Ontario’s housing market grows more and more daunting for young renters, who, according to a new study, remain optimistic about their home ownership dreams but face years — and in some cities, decades — of saving up for a down payment.
According to a new study by real estate marketplace Point2Homes, young renters have the strongest motivation to become owners, but rising home prices are making it increasingly difficult to turn their dreams into reality.
The national starter home price is roughly $350,000, which puts the 20 per cent down payment at nearly $70,000. Despite this, a nationwide poll by Point2Homes revealed that nine in 10 renters have much less than that amount set aside, despite most wishing to buy a home within the next year.
How long it’ll take you to save up for a home depends on several factors, including the city you live in, your income, and the size of the property you’re looking to purchase. Timelines vary wildly, from only 2.5 years in select cities to over 40 years for young renters in more expensive cities.
Source: Point2Homes.
For example, if you’re an older Millennial earning the average income in Quebec City, saving for a down payment on a starter home would take just over two years, but if you’re a young renter looking to own in expensive cities like Vaughan, Toronto, or Mississauga, saving for a down payment could be next to impossible.
According to the study, the youngest renters would have to religiously set aside a hefty 20 per cent of their monthly income for the next 25 to 35 years to cover the current amount for a starter home in select cities.
Source: Point2Homes.
A city that really stands out in the study is Markham, where it would take young renters a mind-boggling 40.2 years to save enough for a down payment.
Within the 15-24 age group, it would take the average person 28.8 years to save for a starter home priced at $541,250 with a 20 per cent down payment of $108,250. In Brampton, the average person in this age group would take 25.9 years to save up for the down payment on a starter home priced at $498,450.
Source: Point2Homes.
For younger Millenials (ages 25-34), it would take roughly 11.3 years to save up for a starter home in Toronto based on an individual income of $48,061. In other cities, the average person in this age group would need to save for 11.4 years in Mississauga and 6.1 years in Ottawa.
Starter home prices in this study represent half the local benchmark home price, with the latter being sourced from local MLS systems. Individual incomes for all age brackets were sourced from the latest Statistics Canada Census Population.
Source: Point2Homes.
For those aged 35-44, it would take approximately 9.2 years to save for a starter home in Toronto based on an average individual income of 58,984, while it would take the average person in this age group 8.9 years to save in Mississauga and 9.3 years in Brampton.
When it comes to preferred timelines for home ownership, the study found that the youngest and oldest home seekers are the most determined to purchase a property. Point2Homes found that seven out of 10 Gen Z potential buyers and almost eight out of 10 Baby Boomers older than 65 would like to buy a home before the year ends.
Source: Point2Homes.
However, in most cases, incomes and financial capabilities are inversely correlated. Gen Z and older Baby Boomers have the lowest average incomes of all the age groups, which means that they’re also looking at the longest saving time frames.
The study also found that 62 per cent of all survey takers would like to buy within the next 12 months, although almost half of the respondents reported that they have less than $10,000 set aside for a down payment.
Source: Point2Homes.
“Unsurprisingly, Gen Z home-seekers were the least prepared, despite their desire and determination to become homeowners as soon as possible,” the report reads.
Roughly 14 per cent of young buyers reported that they don’t actually have any money set aside for a down payment.
