Young Montrealers hope home ownership is not out of reach

The housing situation in Montreal and across Quebec means “it’s not a good time” to find a home anywhere in the province, according to a housing activist.

Catherine Lussier, a coordinator with the Front d’action populaire en réaménagement urbain (FRAPRU), says the situation is particularly bad in the metropolis and its adjacent cities.

Lussier’s comments are in response to a new report that shows fewer young Canadians own a home compared with three years ago.

Scotiabank’s 2024 housing poll says the number of Canadians between 18 and 34 who own a home has declined to 26 per cent today from 47 per cent in 2021.

Around 29 per cent of people in that age group – millennials and Gen Z adults – are now living with parents or family, up from around one fifth of those surveyed three years ago.

“A lot of them have to live with their parents or sometimes a sister or brother to be able to afford actually living in a place,” Lussier said.

Over half of Canadians in the 18-34 cohort say the current economic environment is negatively impacting their finances to the point they must delay their home-buying plans.

Lussier says stereotypes continue to persist surrounding new homeowners – many of them based on age, family size, salary, and social status. She says the reality is grim, as the average income for youth is $24,000 annually.

“One of the most difficult things for young (people) is to be able to find a place to stay, specifically if you don’t want to live with roommates all your life until like 50,” Lussier said. “It’s really the prices are getting higher and higher, and then they will face also discrimination because they might not have any references from all previous owners, they may not have any credit score.”

An advocate for social housing, Lussier says young Canadians are also struggling with finding affordable rent.

According to the Scotiabank report, there is a “confidence gap” among young Canadians when it comes to the homebuying process, with 63 per cent of Gen Z and 54 per cent of millennials indicating they want clearer information and support from financial institutions.

Lussier says since the pandemic, these numbers are not surprising.

“The situation overall is discouraging in a way because we don’t notice, even if the government has finally recognized that there is a housing crisis, we don’t see it in the policies that is truly putting a priority towards housing, towards fighting the housing crisis, towards building social housing,” she said. “The different bills that have been passed, there is so many other things that could have been done.”

Despite housing market challenges, the survey says 58 per cent of non-homeowners aged 18 to 43 in Canada are still determined to purchase a home within the next five years.

McGill University student Dena, 19, tells CityNews she would like to be a homeowner one day.

“I’ve honestly been thinking about that,” she said. “I definitely want to own a home, but I feel like the chances are like about 50-50 that I get to.

“I would definitely want to see incentives to get students, especially who’ve spent money on degrees, getting affordable housing, getting that boost to be able to own their own home from the government.”

Fellow McGill student Nicolas, 21, says rising home prices are “crazy.”

“I remember my parents buying their first house and I when we started living there, and from then up to now, and the prices skyrocketed,” he said. “I don’t think the level of finance they were at when they came out of college to buy their first house versus me is so different.”

Young Montrealer Ivan, 17, says other costs are getting in the way of home ownership.

“It’s usually cost of living, sometimes getting an internship can be hard, and even if you do get an internship, it’s probably not paid.”

–With files from The Canadian Press