Young Ontarians are able to enter into homeownership thanks to support
As many as four in 10 parents of young homeowner adults (aged 18-38) in Ontario provided financial assistance to their children’s home purchases, according to the Ontario Real Estate Association.
Of those that provided help to their children, 44% used their own general savings to support these purchases, while 15% used their own retirement savings or investments. Those who loaned for their children’s purchases lent an average of $40,878, while those who gifted money gave an average of $73,605.
“Parents are becoming increasingly worried that their children may not be able to achieve the dream of homeownership, so they are pulling out all the stops to help them get their foot in the market,” said Tim Hudak, CEO of OREA.
Among parents of young Ontarians adults who do not own property, 91% of them said that it is important that their children be able to eventually enter the housing market, OREA said.
The parents polled by OREA said that the current situation is a far more difficult environment to buy a home in compared to their younger years, with the major roadblocks being mounting prices (88%) and the difficulty of saving for a down payment (49%).
“Ontario’s parents have seen first-hand the benefits of homeownership on neighbourhoods: it fosters vibrant and stable communities, improves quality of life, and has been the bulwark of Canada’s middle class for generations, so it is not surprising that they want the same for their children,” Hudak said.
“Without meaningful action at all levels of government, Ontario’s millennials and young families will be forced to look outside the province for their first home, leading to brain drain and negatively impacting our economic competitiveness,” Hudak added.
