Joint purchases are becoming more popular, especially among those closer in age to each other
Ontario’s home price levels are still high enough to warrant cooperative purchases from significant parts of the buying population, if the latest Teranet data is any indication.
Last year, Ontario saw co-ownership in 37.1% of its condo units, and parental assistance in 14.4% of condo purchases.
The trend has been ongoing for nearly a decade now: Teranet figures also showed that the share of condo apartments with singular owners was 57.1% in 2012, falling to 48.4% as of last year. Across all residential asset classes, the ownership rate declined from 40.2% to 33.9% during the same time frame.
Co-buying is especially apparent among those relatively close in terms of age. As of 2012, 50.1% of the province’s homes had several owners on title, with the age gaps being 20 years or less. This proportion went up to 51.6% by 2018.
Meanwhile, the portion of homes purchased with the help of one or both parents was 9.6% in 2012. This shot up to 14.5% last year – and considering the market’s elevated costs, this is a trend that is showing no signs of stopping any time soon.
“The rise of intergenerational wealth to secure ownership is a big issue to watch,” Better Dwelling noted in its review of the figures.
The analysis added that this will likely introduce further vulnerabilities to the long-stressed market.
“If parental help becomes the norm, a single asset class becomes heavily concentrated. This makes already highly indebted households, more vulnerable to long-term consequences in the event of shock.”
