If you’ve been slightly concerned about what’s happening in the housing market lately and whether the prospect of becoming a homeowner is more and more remote, you’re not alone. People all over the world are seeing homeownership slipping away as renting is slowly taking its place, according to a new study by apartment search website RENTCafé.
The study analyzed homeownership and rental rates in 30 of the world’s most developed countries and found that over a period of 5 years renting was increasing in 21 of the 30. Not in Canada, however. While renting grew significantly in places like the UK, Ireland, Denmark and even the U.S., it decreased by 4% in Canada.
Homeownership is strongly favoured in Canada (in spite of rising home prices), and the proof is in the numbers: owner households represent 66.5% of the market, while the share of renters is only 33.5%. By comparison, the homeownership rate in the U.S. is 63.8%.
However, the percentage of households that are owner-occupied tends to be lower in Canada’s biggest cities: 52.8% of Toronto’s households are owner-occupied as of 2016, 46.9% in Vancouver, and 36.7% in Montreal. GTA’s Brampton boasts the largest share of homeowners among the country’s 10 largest municipalities, 80%.
For more information on this study, please visit the original Renters vs Homeowners post.
