There is a troubling sign emerging in Canada right now – home ownership levels are declining as more of us face a lifetime of renting.
The most recent figures have ownership declining from 67 per cent or 63 per cent of the adult population.
In large measure, this is a big city issue where residential property prices have gone through the roof. It is not unusual for what we would consider an average home to sell for more than $1 million in centres such as Toronto or Vancouver.
Home ownership is, for most people, the largest single investment they ever make. It is also the primary source of wealth accumulation for those who do own rather than rent. So, for those who can’t get into a house, they find themselves more and more on the bottom end of the wealth disparity gap.
The rich get richer and those renting don’t, simply because they are not riding the real estate appreciation wave. As the economists at TD Bank put it, it is less about rich versus poor and more homeowners versus renters.
Home ownership is the great equalizer.
