Many under age 40 fear they will never be homeowners

April 19, 2021

Canadians are apparently split between giving up on ever buying a home or putting away money to save for one.
Nearly two-in-five non-homeowners under 40 (36 per cent ) say they will never own a home and 62 per cent of all Canadians surveyed believe the majority of people will be priced out of the market in the next decade, according to the RBC Spring Housing Poll released April 6, 2021.
For those likely to buy a home in the next two years, the poll found 60 per cent are saving monthly by putting away $789 on average each month for a home.
“The road to home ownership isn’t always easy,” said RBC vice -president, home equity financing, Amit Sahasrabudhe.
It is not getting any easier for those trying to save a down payment, especially in higher-priced markets. In Greater Toronto or Greater Vancouver, for example, a 10 per cent down payment can easily total $60,000 to $100,000.
Yet 48 per cent of potential buyers told RBC their budget is less than $500,000, while the average house price in Canada i s $678,091 as of February 2021. (This rises to $864,159 and $887,695 in Ontario and British Columbia, respectively; and, decreases to $290,789 and $224,785 in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick, respectively.)
When considering a down payment, almost nine in 10 respondents who are likely to buy in the next two years have an average of $42,000 in savings for a home purchase. Forty per cent have less than $25,000 earmarked for their home purchase, RBC said.