COMMENTARY: There’s no easy path to home ownership

I got a lot of feedback from listeners regarding my commentary about the Bank of Canada announcement to raise interest rates yesterday.

Some, who identified themselves as millennials, were upset that I chose to highlight the impact the rate hike could have on current homeowners.

One upset listener opined that  I probably had a house and a mortgage already and I couldn’t relate to the 20-somethings who are trying to get into the housing market.

Well, yes, I do own a house; it’s a nice house in a nice neighbourhood, but, like many other people, it took a long time and a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get to this point.

2:06 Interest rates raised for the first time in seven years

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Every generation can tell stories of how difficult it is to get into the housing game.

There are lots of stories of people who had to move out of urban centres to find a place to live.

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Today, we call that gentrification; past generations just called it looking for a house you could afford.

The point is, today’s millennials are not the first generation, nor will they be the last to face challenges of buying and maintaining a home.

But raising interest rates and adding to the debt load of homeowners doesn’t make the task any easier.

Bill Kelly is the host of Bill Kelly Show on AM 900 CHML and a commentator for Global News.