Polling data released by the Ontario Real Estate Association shows that nearly half of Ontario residents under the age of 45 are looking at moving out of the province in order to afford a home.
According to a report released on Tuesday, 46 per cent of those prospective homebuyers have either considered, or are considering, homes outside of Ontario.
It also revealed that 33 per cent of people under the age of 29 are “definitely” considering or are “very likely” to buy out of province at 11 per cent and 22 per cent, respectively.
“The lack of housing supply is leading many to look outside the province for their first homes and that will make it difficult to retain and attract talent in Ontario in the near future,” OREA CEO Tim Hudak said.
About 65 per cent of those who do not own a home want to own a residential property, that percentage goes up to 80 per cent for people between 18 and 29 years old.
For those who are looking to buy a house, there was a strong demand for single-detached homes (56 per cent of respondents indicated this was their preference).
Non-homeowners generally said they view all types of housing as not affordable. Townhouses and condos were viewed as only slightly more affordable than detached or semi-detached properties by non-homeowners.
Seven in ten of those polled feel that housing affordability should be a high priority for the Ontario government.
Some suggested, according to the data, that the government could stop money laundering in the province’s real estate market with a publicly searchable registry of who owns the properties, increase first-time home buyer tax rebates, redevelop surplus commercial properties into housing, and introducing tax credits and incentives for homeowners to make improvements such as energy efficiency in homes.
“The affordability crisis continues to crush the dream of home ownership for many Ontarians and this has been intensified by the economic impact of the pandemic,” Hudak said.
“Governments need to act if we want to create future generations of homeowners and that starts with pro-growth policies that could bring affordability closer to first-time home buyers and address the supply shortage.”
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