Millennials Concerned About Housing

Poll shows they lack confidence in the affordability of homes in the GTASurveying 1,503 GTA residents on behalf of the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) and the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD), a recent Ipsos poll shows there is great concern among GTA millennials that they will be unable to afford a home in the GTA. However, there is some optimism from this group regarding their views on housing supply for new residents.GTA residents also expressed a lack of confidence about the likelihood their children will be able to remain in the communities where they grew up.Here are some key findings from the Ipsos poll:Interestingly, although millennials are concerned about the ability to own a home, they are also the most optimistic group regarding housing supply, with 41 per cent of them believing that the GTA is well prepared to provide housing for the number of new residents that settle here every year. That is substantially higher than those aged 35 to 54 (31 per cent) and those over 55 (27 per cent).When choosing a new home, 60 per cent of GTA residents say they value a neighbourhood that is walkable and bikeable in addition to being within close proximity to shopping, entertainment and government services. This is closely followed by those who prefer access to convenient transit (56 per cent) and close proximity to work and school (54 per cent).Nearly 7 out of 10 respondents feel that their children will be unable to afford a home in the community where they grew up. This group of respondents agrees that it is important for young families to be able to afford to live and work within the GTA without having to deal with long commutes.When asked, “To what extent do you strongly or somewhat agree or disagree with the following”:

• 92 per cent agree that the dream of homeownership is becoming more difficult to achieve for young people living in their city.
• 86 per cent agree that it is important that young families can afford to live and work within the GTA without having to commute over an hour to get to work.
• 39 per cent agree that there are enough homes being built in their city to help keep housing affordable.
• 33 per cent agree that the GTA is well prepared to provide housing for roughly 115,000 new residents that settle here each year.
• 33 per cent agree that their children (or their friends’ children) will be able to afford a home in my community when they grow up.

The best public policy is proactive, not reactive. We hope these poll results demonstrate that the time for municipal decision makers to start thinking about housing choice and supply for all GTA residents who want to own a home is now.

The results of the poll are accurate to within +/- 2.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what the results would have been had all adults in the GTA been polled.Garry Bhaura is president of the Toronto Real Estate Board. You can contact him at TREBpres@trebnet.com. For updates on the real estate market, visit TRREB.ca. If commercial property is what interests you, contact a TREB realtor by visiting TREBcommercial.com.