Multiple Property Homeownership

TORONTO, July 28, 2021 /CNW/ – According to a recent Royal LePage survey1 of 1,500 homeowners in Canada’s three largest urban centres – Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Greater Montreal Area (GMA) and Greater Vancouver (GV) – more than ten per cent of Canadians polled currently own more than one property (13% in GTA, 12% in GMA, 14% in GV).

“While some secondary properties are used for recreational purposes, many of these homes are foundational to Canada’s critical supply of rental housing,” said Phil Soper, president and CEO, Royal LePage. “Entrepreneurial landlords supply housing to the thirty per cent of Canadians who rent, be they new immigrants, students, young people entering the labour force, or those who cannot or choose not to own their home.”

Twenty-one per cent of secondary property owners in the Greater Montreal Area say they used equity from their primary residence to complete the purchase. That number doubles (42%) in the greater regions of Toronto and Vancouver, where home prices are significantly higher.

When asked about the purpose of their secondary properties, more than two thirds of respondents in Greater Vancouver (65%) and the Greater Toronto Area (64%) said they were collecting rental income, if only some of the time. In the Greater Montreal Area, that number decreased to 35 per cent.

Witnessing home values across the country rising to new heights, younger Canadians who are financially able to purchase one home are confident in purchasing a secondary property as an investment. Eighteen per cent of homeowners aged 18 to 35 in the Greater Toronto Area own more than one property. In the Greater Montreal Area and Greater Vancouver, 16 per cent and 14 per cent of that age group own more than one property, respectively.

Greater Toronto Area

In the Greater Toronto Area, 27 per cent of secondary property owners said they were not collecting any rental income at all, while 49 per cent said they are using the unit solely as a rental property. Fifteen per cent said they were using the property some of the time and renting it out some of the time. Seven per cent of respondents said their secondary properties are currently vacant.

In the Greater Toronto Area, 18 per cent of homeowners aged 18 to 35 currently own more than one property, while 11 per cent of homeowners over the age of 35 own more than one property.

A recent Royal LePage survey of Canadian boomers (chart), those born between 1946 and 1965, found that 54 per cent of the cohort in the Greater Toronto Area have at least half (50%) of their net wealth in real estate. Twenty-nine per cent say they have or would consider gifting or loaning money to a child to help with the purchase of a home. Another Royal LePage survey of Canadians aged 25 to 35 (chart) found that 93 per cent of the Torontonians in this age group consider home ownership a good financial investment.

Greater Montreal Area

In the Greater Montreal Area, where properties are more affordable than in the other two major urban centres surveyed, 37 per cent of secondary property owners said they were not collecting any rental income at all, while 25 per cent said they are using the unit solely as a rental property. Nine per cent said they were using the property some of the time and renting it out some of the time. Four per cent of respondents said their secondary properties are currently vacant.

In the Greater Montreal Area, 16 per cent of homeowners aged 18 to 35 currently own more than one property, while 11 per cent of homeowners over the age of 35 own more than one property.

Greater Vancouver

In Greater Vancouver, 27 per cent of secondary property owners said they were not collecting any rental income at all, while 51 per cent said they are using the unit solely as a rental property. Thirteen per cent said they were using the property some of the time and renting it out some of the time. Seven per cent of respondents said their secondary properties are currently vacant.

In Greater Vancouver, the country’s most expensive city to buy real estate, 14 per cent of homeowners aged 18 to 35 currently own more than one property. Similarly, 14 per cent of homeowners over the age of 35 own more than one property.

An online survey of 1500 Canadians in Greater Vancouver (500), the Greater Toronto Area (500) and the Greater Montreal Area (500) was completed between June 4, 2021, and June 13, 2021, using Leger’s online panel. No margin of error can be associated with a non-probability sample (i.e. a web panel in this case). For comparative purposes, though, a probability sample of 500 respondents would have a margin of error of ±4.4%, 19 times out of 20.