Surprise: Gen Z want to buy in the suburbs

June 6, 2022

Most Gen Z homebuyers in Canada want to purchase in the suburbs of a major city, according to Sotheby’s International Real Estate Group and Mustel.
The report released June 1, 2022, surveyed Gen Z adults in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver to determine where they plan to buy their first home and the factors driving this important life decision.
Of significance in this report is that 73 per cent of Canada’s urban Gen Z adults plan to buy their first home in their current city of residence or within a one-hour drive, while just 15 per cent indicate that buying in or close to the downtown core is a priority.
Sotheby’s survey found that less than 10 per cent of Gen Z buyers wanted to purchase a home in a small town or rural community.
According to Sotheby’s, surprising divergences have emerged in the location preferences of different generations of homebuyers as pandemic restrictions ease.
“During the pandemic, the desire to work remotely influenced and enabled some Canadians to relocate to outlying suburban or recreational regions to achieve more space and a more desirable lifestyle,” noted Don Kottick, president and CEO of Sotheby’s International Realty Canada.
“[But] our research signals that for Generation Z, buying their first home in a neighbourhood close to their workplace will remain a top priority.”
Kottick cites research from the Angus Reid Institute that reveals generational differences in Canadians’ workplace preferences where 29 per cent of 18-to-34-year-old adults report a preference to work from home entirely, compared to 42 per cent of those over age 54 saying the same.
Statistics Canada also reports that as of April 2022, 19 per cent of Canadian workers usually worked exclusively from home—down from 24 per cent in January 2022.
What the trendline indicates is that many Gen Z, as with previous generations, will seek to buy a home in the suburbs—close enough to a city to commute but with more living space for a young family.