Seniors will lead Ontario home renovations

August 25, 2017


Ontario homeowners aged 55 to 74 represent the biggest single market for home renovations, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC).
CMHC demographic projections suggest these homeowners aged 55 to 74 will comprise nearly 1.1 million Ontario households by 2017.
“With a historical average propensity to renovate at 35 per cent based on CMHC and Statistics Canada data, this suggests nearly 400,000 households could be in the market to renovate their homes,” said Ted Tsiakopoulos, CMHC regional economist for Ontario.
“This would be in line with recent data from Statistics Canada’s Survey of Household Spending, which found that households over the age of 40 were more likely to be in the renovation market in recent years,” he noted.
Historical census data indicates that as much as 80 per cent of households over the age of 55 age in place and prefer not to move. This is due to declining mobility when households age. In addition, undersupplied resale markets combined with rising transaction costs would further discourage mobility among older households.
“Housing needs change as a household ages which will require adapting the current home to meet ever-changing needs,” Tsiakopoulos said.
“In addition, with a large share of young adults staying home longer due to economic and academic considerations, the need for space will remain important,” he added.