Corporations and government entities dominate non-individual ownership
A vast majority of residential properties across Canada is owned by individuals, with less than 10% owned by non-individuals, such as corporations and government entities, in key areas.
Data from the Canadian Housing Statistics Program (CHSP) showed that non-individuals own less than 10% of residential properties in the provinces of British Columbia (B.C.), Ontario, and Nova Scotia, according to the most recent Housing Market Insight (HMI) released by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
Read more: Non-individual ownership incidence highest in B.C. – report
Non-individual ownership of residential property is highest in B.C. at 9.8%, followed by 7.4% in Ontario, and 7.9% in Nova Scotia. At the metro level, non-individual ownership of residential property is at 5.6% in Vancouver, 4.2% in Toronto, and 9.9% in Halifax. On the other hand, the share of the total assessed value for residential properties owned by non-individuals is 11.7% in Vancouver, 9.9% in Toronto and 18.8% in Halifax.
The average assessed value of vacant land owned by non-individuals is $1.9 million in the Vancouver metro area and $900,000 in the Toronto metro area.
"This new data on vacant land and ownership structure addresses another important data gap in housing, providing concrete evidence that residential ownership by non-individual entities is dominated by corporations and governments in each of these three provinces,” said Bob Dugan, chief economist at CMHC. “It may also help us alleviate housing affordability challenges as it allows us to better understand housing supply constraints in key Canadian markets."
