Many young people in Ontario still believe they will own a home one day but yeah right

Even though homes in many parts of the province haven’t been anywhere near affordable for the majority of their lives, a large proportion of young people in Ontario are somehow confident that purchasing property of their own is still attainable.

Canadian brokerage giant Royal LePage conducted a survey to find out the attitudes Gen Zs and later Millennials have about the country’s real estate game, finding that a surprisingly large number of residents in these age brackets hold the belief that buying a home here is a good (and feasible) move.

Nationwide, 84 per cent of respondents said they consider home ownership a “worthwhile investment,” a figure that was dragged down by Ontario and Quebec, where a slightly lower 82 and 81 per cent, respectively, said so. (In comparison, 94 per cent of young people in the Prairies answered yes, and 93 per cent in the Atlantic provinces).

A total of 74 per cent identified owning a home as a “lifetime priority” (75 per cent in Ontario specifically), and 73 per cent expressed that they want a permanent place to live and call their own (65 per cent in Ontario).

What was perhaps most interesting was the fact that only 20 per cent of this demographic said they don’t feel home ownership is achievable for themselves, even with prices, taxes and more being what they are.

In Ontario, where prices and land transfer taxes are among the highest in the country, just 27 per cent had this mindset, while a far larger 47 per cent agreed that “yes, home ownership is an achievable goal” (versus 54 per cent nationally).

Additionally, 73 per cent of respondents in Ontario — among those who consider home ownership a priority and who don’t already own one — said that yes, they are still planning on purchasing a home in their lifetime.

“Owning a home is considered a valuable measure of success by many people in Canada. And, though Toronto is one of the most competitive markets in the country, young people here are very interested in purchasing real estate,” the company said in its release of the results Thursday.

“There is an understanding that owning a home is more financially beneficial, not to mention more secure, in the long term than renting. Home prices wouldn’t be as high as they are if there wasn’t strong demand for the product.”