For some, home ownership may never happen

Danforth area renter Tanya Springer, 32, has been to more than 30 open houses in the last two years.

But she can’t say for sure that she and her husband are actively searching for a home.

They might, in fact, be wrapping their minds around the possibility that home ownership in the city where they were born and raised may never happen.

As the months passed, the open houses became more packed, the stories from house-hunting friends more frightening. “It just seems so stressful. People have to leave work to see places and make decisions immediately without a home inspection, without conditions. There’s bully offers,” said Springer.

“Good friends of ours that bought earlier this year, they had to put in an offer on eight places. That’s emotional and time consuming. I don’t need that in my life at this point.” It’s not like Springer is fussy. “Do I want to move into a total gut job? No. But I’m not looking for something that has been completely redone,” she said.

They are flexible on neighbourhood but don’t want a suburban commute.

“We’ve seen close friends move to Pickering, to Oakville. In one word — no,” said Springer.

The couple are city cyclists, they work long hours at downtown jobs, he’s “a massive Raptors fan.”

Their current $1,600 monthly rental isn’t big enough to accommodate a child. They would have to move to a larger rental that could cost more than $2,200 a month. But Springer says they’ve educated themselves to the fact that home ownership entails far more cost than a monthly mortgage payment by the time you factor in taxes, maintenance and other costs. “We had a wedding. We had a honeymoon in Italy, we visited family in California last month. We’re keenly aware we wouldn’t be comfortable doing those things if we were homeowners,” said Springer. Still, there’s a sense of limbo. “You just want to establish your roots. I haven’t bought a new piece of furniture in four years. We still live with stuff that’s hand-me-downs because what is the point in investing our money in nicer pieces when we don’t know what space we’re going to be in?”