Singles cautious about home ownership, new survey finds
High real estate prices and economic uncertainty worry even those with sound finances
Frazer Hadwin is single, has an aboveaverage income and is $3,000 in debt. He’s looked and even bid on homes in Toronto, but Hadwin has put aside buying a place for the time being.
The 47-year-old project manager, who has worked on international events, in- cluding the London Olympics, and Toronto’s Pan Am and Invictus games, doesn’t think the region’s housing market has caught up to the reality of the post-2016-17 boom.
He also has doubts about the global economy: Brexit, the unpredictability of U.S. President Donald Trump, pipelines and China are some of the international issues that trouble him.
Hadwin is among the 32 per cent of Ontario singles considering buying a home on their own and the 52 per cent of single Canadians (the number is the same in Ontario) who say economic uncertainty and high home prices are making them hesitate, according to the findings of a Leger online survey for Re/Max released Tuesday.
Hadwin said he’s not the most economically savvy guy.
But, he said, “We’re damned if we do and we’re damned if we don’t. Interest rates are low enough that a mortgage is still decent and even a variable rate
mortgage is probably not that big a gamble. But the other side of that is that interest rates are low enough that you don’t make money on your money because the banks can’t turn it around and make more money off your money. To me it feels like we’re kind of in a stalled economy.”
The survey found that urban singles are more hesitant than suburbanites — 48 versus 43 per cent — because of the high cost of ownership. Thirty-eight per cent of the singles surveyed saw a home as a good investment. Among urban residents, the number was higher at 51per cent.
Thirty-five per cent say they have saved the down payment.
Among those surveyed, the 80 per cent of singles who want to buy a home indicated they have the ability.
Hadwin is one of those. He had more than $70,000 for a down payment just before the Toronto region real estate bubble burst in the spring of 2017. He bid on a loft near Queen St. W. and Dufferin St. It was listed for $450,000. Hadwin offered $490,000. The condo sold for $650,000.
“What I’ve found is that the market hasn’t come back down to Earth,” he said.
He owns a car but doesn’t like driving in the city, so he really wants to live on a streetcar or subway line. He is just about to move into a rental near Roncesvalles Ave.
“I’m at the point now where (I am) talking to friends and colleagues about I’m probably never going to buy anything to live in, so maybe we should get together and buy something to turn into income,” Hadwin said.
Re/Max executive vice-president Christopher Alexander blamed government interventions in the housing market, such as a mortgage stress test that requires homebuyers to qualify for loans above the consumer rates offered by their banks.
“It’s concerning to see qualified buyers showing hesitancy toward home ownership. Price and economic factors aside, the additional unnecessary layers of government intervention have left many feeling pushed out of the market or uncertain of it,” he said in a release.
The survey of 590 single, divorced, separated and widowed Canadians was completed between Jan.11 and 14. Forty-three per cent of survey respondents said they had less than $5,000 in debt.