Why a Toronto condo rental may be a better choice than home ownership for millennials
In a recent study released by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, The Demographics of Wealth, the U.S. Federal Reserve suggested that young Americans may be better off delaying their first home purchase. The report, which is based on data collected from 40,000 households interviewed between 1989 and 2013, says that “buying a home too early is putting young families on a trajectory to be poorer than all previous generations.”
In an August 7 article by the Financial Post’s Jason Heath, the author argues that the reserve’s position applies equally to young Canadians. “Homes cost more in Canada (averaging $453,560 nationally vs approximately $311,619 in the U.S.), and household debt is higher here as well,” Heath writes. http://rentingtoronto.com/why-a-toronto-condo-rental-may-be-a-better-choice-than-home-ownership-for-millennials/ http://rentingtoronto.com/why-a-toronto-condo-rental-may-be-a-better-choice-than-home-ownership-for-millennials/“Canadian millennials should pay close attention to the advice being doled out by the U.S. central bank.”
These figures reinforce the financial soundness of young peoples’ decision to maintain an apartment or condo rental long past the age when their parents moved into the buyers’ market. With millennials making less money than previous generations, putting together a down payment is no easy task, and high mortgages make it difficult to save for retirement. ip info . A reasonable apartment or condo rental, coupled with a dedicated savings plan and wise investing, may make more fiscal sense than pursuing the traditional path to home ownership.
As the Federal Reserve report puts it, millennials ought to “delay purchase of a home with its attendant debt burden until it (is) possible to buy a house that (does) not make the family’s balance sheet dangerously undiversified and highly leveraged.”
Per a September 2014 Conference Board of Canada report, the current income gap between younger and older workers has expanded to a point where young working Canadians are poised to be the first generation worse off than their parents. The average disposable income of 50- to 54-year-olds is now 64 per cent higher than Canadians aged 25 to 29. Meanwhile, the average price of a detached home in Toronto reached $1.052 million in June 2015, making home ownership an economically unsound proposition for many young Torontonians.
To be sure, home ownership has become a societal norm in Canada, and many young Canadians are drawn to the idea. For those able to safely make the investment, home ownership can be an excellent forced savings plan. But for a generation struggling to find a financial footing, premature home ownership poses substantial risks.
In Toronto, a condo rental offers a wider range of locations to choose from (most millennials won’t be buying a house in West Queen West any time soon, but relatively affordable rentals are plentiful), and allows the tenant to avoid costly expenses like renovations and home insurance on top of a mortgage. An apartment or condo rental also means less obligation and more freedom to relocate should your career, family, relationship, or itch to travel necessitate a hiatus from Toronto.
Renting Toronto has been in the business of placing competent, qualified tenants in owners’ and landlords’ properties since 1999. Whether you’re looking for a condo rental in a great Toronto location, or have a property you would like to rent out, our full-time, dedicated agents will find the best fit for you.