700,000 Millennials looking to move out of their parents’ basement in the next decade, new research shows

The GTHA could be short 70,000 homes if supply does not catch up to meet Millennial demand

TORONTO, ON, May 22, 2018 – Over the next decade, 700,000 Millennials in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) will enter the housing market in search of their first home. According to the report – Millennials in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area: A Generation Stuck in Apartments? – released today by Ryerson University’s Centre for Urban Research & Land Development (CUR) and sponsored by the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA), Millennials will represent the largest source of housing demand in the next ten years. However, if current home building trends continue, the housing market will be short roughly 70,000 ground-related housing units required to meet Millennial demand.

According to the report, Baby Boomers are not expected to downsize and free up resale housing until mid-2040. As such, the housing needed to meet the demands of Millennials will have to come from the new housing market. The report notes that Millennials are likely to trigger the next baby boom, so policy makers must encourage more family-friendly ground-oriented housing.

Unaffordable home ownership affects more than just young Ontarians and the parents who support them. A lack of affordable home options could push young professionals to longer commutes and more traffic congestion for all Ontarians. Furthermore, many talented and well-educated Millennials are likely to leave the region or the province altogether.

As the Canadian dream of home ownership continues to slip out of reach for Ontario’s young families and first-time buyers, OREA has launched a Keep the Dream Alive campaign to ensure affordable home ownership remains a top priority for policy makers. The campaign urges Ontarians to visit www.KeepTheDreamAlive.ca and send a message to their local candidates, urging them to make home ownership a priority this provincial election.

With the provincial election less than two months away, OREA has launched a Keep the Dream Alive campaign to ensure home affordability remains a priority for party candidates in all 124 Ontario ridings and the new government. Ontarians are being encouraged, through digital advertising, to visit www.KeepTheDreamAlive.ca to send a letter to their riding’s candidates asking them for a commitment to keep home ownership within reach for future generations.

QUOTES

“A shortage of housing puts pressure on Millennials, their parents and roadways, as buyers move further away from city centres in search of affordable home ownership. These highly educated and talented young people want a home for their kids to grow up in. In this election, all three Parties need to demonstrate that they’re on the side of new and growing families by committing to increasing housing supply and housing choices.”
-Tim Hudak, Chief Executive Officer, OREA

"Homeownership rates among Millennials are no different than past generations, suggesting they are likely to continue to want to own. But our research shows that the Baby Boomers are unlikely to free up room in the housing market for Millennials. That means there's a real risk that housing affordability concerns could push Ontario's Millennial talent pool--the most educated in Canada--out of the province."
-Frank Clayton, Senior Research Fellow, Ryerson CUR

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