Buying property with friends and family has become a trend in the Toronto market in recent years, as housing is otherwise unattainable. Today, this is just one of several forms of non-traditional home ownership that are growing in popularity across the country.
New data from RE/MAX sheds light on how many people in major Canadian cities are now resorting to things like buying a home with loved ones, renting to buy, or purchasing a property for its rental potential given today's economy.
People are now buying homes together to afford Toronto's crowded housing market https://t.co/VuuDzJBR57 #Toronto #TorontoHousingMarket
– blogTO (@blogTO) October 12, 2023
According to a survey Leger conducted this month for the real estate brand, a third of Canadians (32 percent) say the cost of living crisis, rising interest rates and ever-higher home prices in markets across the country have prompted them to look alternative ways to fulfill your dream of owning your own home.
Additionally, a whopping 48 percent – almost half – of respondents said they would consider these non-traditional forms of ownership in the future.
In Ontario in particular, homes with second homes for income rental or to house multiple generations of a family under one roof are in high demand, particularly in cities like Mississauga, Brampton and London.
Realtors in parts of the GTA estimate that multigenerational or group ownership in some cities – such as Hamilton, Burlington and Oakville – has increased by around 300 percent in the last five years and will continue to rise across the region.
“Realtors reported that the number of Canadians entering into a non-traditional homebuyer situation in markets such as London and Toronto is expected to increase by eight to ten per cent, and in Mississauga and Brampton it could be as high as 35 per cent, with an increase of five percent.” “We will see an increase in the future compared to the previous year,” the report says.
“This is particularly common in families where parents or even grandparents are co-owners or shareholders. Likewise, these regions are seeing an increase in reverse mortgages, particularly among older residents, to either obtain the property they want or use the funds for another.”
Investment.”
While these older demographics may be more involved in the purchases of younger family members in this way, it is younger people who are more likely to have to resort to these alternative models out of necessity.
The survey found that Canadians who have already purchased a home through one of the above non-traditional means are more likely to be young people aged 18 to 34 and/or residents of color.
And yet nothing is being done. No short-term plans at all. Only increasing immigration is leading to shortages and more living space.
— Blindwillie (@Blindwillie4) February 14, 2024
Along with all of this information, RE/MAX experts didn't shy away from offering suggestions to all levels of government to ease the housing affordability crisis, writing that this “creativity in the home buying process is a workaround, not a solution.”
“Like modern, innovative home buyers, our governments must be more strategic and visionary about how we can use existing land and real estate to advance our housing supply, enabling greater housing diversity for all Canadians.”
Main photo by
Re/Max West Realty Inc. via Strata.ca