More Canadians choose renting a property instead of buying

The latest report by Statistics Canada says Canadians more often choose to rent a home instead of purchasing is as real estate prices keep going up.

According to StatsCan, Canadian renting households were up by 21.5% from 2011 to 2021, which is more than twice the pace of the hike in home ownership (8.4%).

The increase in the rental rate is the result of a hike in multi-family units as the domestic economy tries to deal with high immigration rates.

“The rise in the rental rate reflects the increased construction of apartments and condominiums. Before 2011, apartments accounted for less than 40% of all building permits. Since the beginning of 2011, multi-unit building permits have accounted for 68.1%, and for 73.2% – in 2021 alone,” – the report noted.

“These construction and housing tendencies address the stronger demand for these types of buildings, supported by population growth through immigration, an aging population and a gravitation towards the downtown lifestyle, especially in case of younger Canadians.”

The report says the general decrease in home ownership was most significant among younger Canadians, who are dealing with sky-rocketing real estate prices across Canada’s market.

“From 2011 to 2021, homeownership rates were down among adults under the age of 75. In case of those aged 25 to 29 years the rate fell from 44.1% in 2011 to 36.5% in 2021. Meanwhile, for those aged 30 to 34 years, homeownership rates were down from 59.2% in 2011 to 52.3% in 2021,” – the report noted.

“In case of older age groups, the declines were not so strong, for instance, among those aged 70 to 74 years, the rate fell from 75.5% to 74.8%.”

In general, 66.5% of Canadians had their own property in 2021, while the number was 69% in 2011.