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Royal LePage Blog
High property prices, elevated interest rates and the rising cost of living has prompted many Canadians to rethink their lifestyle and housing needs. For some, this means pooling financial resources with other family members and friends in order to gain access to the housing market. By co-owning a property (with someone other than their spouse or significant other), homebuyers can not only divide the expense of homeownership among more people, but potentially access larger homes in more desirable locations that they may not have been able to afford on their own.
According to a recent Royal LePage survey1 conducted by Leger, 6% of Canadian homeowners2 co-own their property with another party, not including their spouse or significant other. Of this group, 89% co-own with family members and 7% with friends. Another 8% co-own with someone who is not a friend or family member.
Seventy-six per cent of co-owners say that affordability was a major motivating factor in their decision to co-purchase their property. Not surprisingly, that number rises to 83% for co-owners between the ages of 25 and 34.
“Households group together for many reasons, including communal care for elderly parents, help raising children, cultural preferences or simply to be together. However, the decision to live together, including co-owning a home, is a decision increasingly made for financial reasons,” said Karen Yolevski, COO, Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd. “In an environment where home prices and interest rates have risen quickly and sharply, and where the threshold to qualify for a mortgage has become much more challenging, Canadians are pooling their resources and buying homes together. In cases where homebuyers cannot afford to purchase on their own, they are combining their buying power with their parents, children, siblings or even friends.”
Concerning their co-owning situation, 44% of co-owners3 say that they and all fellow co-owners live in the home together. A smaller percentage (28%) say that they co-own a home with another person(s), but they do not cohabitate. Six per cent of respondents say that they co-own a home with another person(s) and neither party uses the home as a primary residence, rather as an investment or recreational property.
According to Stéfanie Cadou, residential real estate broker, Royal LePage Village in Montreal, cohabitation combinations are becoming increasingly diversified these days in order for buyers to gain access to home ownership, which for some means letting go of the option to live in complete solitude, a trend that emerged for many households during the pandemic and has remained permanent for some.
“The decision to buy jointly with family or friends nevertheless requires careful thought and the establishment of clear rules for living together,” said Cadou. “Preparing a cohabitation agreement – ideally notarized – can be beneficial to ensure that rules and obligations are respected by all parties. It is also essential to provide private and common living spaces so that all co-owners can pursue their respective daily routines without encroaching on each other.”
Here are a few highlights from the 2023 Canadian Co-owners Survey:
Almost one third (32%) of co-owners who were motivated by low affordability purchased their home after the Bank of Canada began raising interest rates in March of 2022
Nearly two-thirds (65%) of Canadian co-owners say they own a single-family detached property
56% of co-owners co-own a home with their parent(s) or parent(s)-in-law; 18% co-own with their adult child(ren)
1An online survey of 501 Canadians 18+, who co-own their home with someone other than their spouse, was completed between August 10, 2023, and August 21, 2023, using Leger’s online panel. No margin of error can be associated with a non-probability sample (i.e., a web panel in this case). For comparative purposes, though, a probability sample of 501 respondents would have a margin of error of ±4.4%, 19 times out of 20. N.B. Participants could co-own with a spouse, but must co-own with someone other than their spouse as well.
2Sample was weighted based on age, gender, and region according to current census data and incidence of home co-ownership was calculated using Q1 and Q2 responses
3In the survey, co-owners are defined as an individual person or a couple who own a property with another person or persons
DATA CHART
The free iPads will improve the quality of life of senior residents and their families.
Some West Island seniors received an early Christmas present Wednesday when free iPads were distributed at local CHLSDs.
The “iPads for Seniors’ Residences” campaign was an initiative of Lianas Senior Transition Support, in collaboration with West Island Community Shares (WICS)...
" When the COVID-19 pandemic first hit last spring, senior homes in Laval were particularly hard hit.
CJAD host Matt Del Vecchio of Life Unrehearsed and his wife Stefanie Cadou have launched their Go Fund Me campaign to provide new iPads for seniors residences in need..... Funds raised will go directly to the purchase of iPads. They will be hand delivered to seniors residences that will benefit from the generosity of donors." ..
Click to download the March 2019 issue
It’s familiar, comfortable — and (hopefully) paid off. But without the momentum of an impending move, it’s all too easy to put off planning for an eventual change.
When you’ve been in the same home for 40 or 50 years, stuff tends to pile up.
Over the years, mementoes and bric-a-brac gather in dusty corners of basements, attics, garages, spare rooms, cupboards and closets, everything from boxes of forgotten family photos to the long-disused bins of camping equipment and bags of the children’s old toys.
One day you’ll go through it all, you promise yourself. You’ll have a big garage sale. You’ll box the best of it up and give it to the kids. You’ll donate the rest to charity. One day.
Days have a way of running out. Wait too long, and when “one day” comes, you may be physically incapable of making it down the stairs to the basement or lifting heavy boxes of books. Financial difficulties, illness, injury or death may impose new deadlines, adding another layer of stress to an already overwhelming task.
Many seniors prefer to stay in the family home as long as possible. It’s familiar, comfortable — and (hopefully) paid off. But without the momentum of an impending move, it’s all too easy to put off planning for the inevitable day when circumstances force a change.
Stefanie, Matt and Corrie discuss the delicate choice of aging well at home or making a move.
Stefanie, Matt and Corrie discuss
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