Worries about housing affordability continue to cloud many Canadians’ mental landscapes
The “Bank of Mom and Dad” is helping not just with home purchases, but also with rental bills, according to a Leger poll commissioned by FP Canada.
The survey found that 24% of Canadians with adult children helped their offspring become first-time home buyers. Nearly half (48%) indicated that they plan on helping their children buy their houses once they come of age.
Meanwhile, as much as 35% of Canadians shouldered some of their adult children’s rent costs. More than one-third (36%) also stated that they are planning to help their children pay the rent once they decide to become tenants.
CIBC World Markets Inc. deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal said that these numbers shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering that the affordability crisis has encompassed all housing types at this point.
“Rent is extremely expensive, and we see parents helping,” he told Global News. “The first way was parents helping with kids buying a house. We see a record high number of young people relying on their parents for a down payment.”
Despite the prospects of greater purchasing power brought about by a strong economy, Canadians as a whole continue to worry about housing and its associated costs, according to a Q2 poll commissioned for CBC News.
Among the leading sources of anxiety for Canadians, fears about housing and living costs predominated, with 32% of respondents citing these as their major sources of worry.
These far overshadowed other concerns, including climate change (19%), health of self/family members (10%), and immigration (8%).
