1 in 3 Canadians Who Bought a Home With a Partner Say It Improved Their Relationship

With Valentine’s Day approaching, Wahi’s 2024 Real Estate Romance Survey provides insights at the intersection of relationships and property ownership.

By Josh Sherman | 3 minute read

Overwhelmingly, Wahi’s 2024 Real Estate Romance survey finds that Canadian couples agreed on major decisions during the homebuying process.

Couples who buy together, stay together. So suggests a new Wahi survey of Angus Reid Forum members that looks into how homebuying affects Canadians’ romantic relationships.

With Valentine’s Day approaching, Wahi’s 2024 Real Estate Romance Survey provides insights at the intersection of relationships and property ownership, including how common it is for couples to buy a home together and whether doing so strengthens romantic partnerships or not. “Buying a home is a major milestone for any couple, and it is by far the most common way for Canadians to become homeowners today,” says Wahi CEO Benjy Katchen. “In fact, 77% of Canadian homeowners say that they bought their home, with their romantic partner. Overall, our survey also suggests that homebuying is rarely a strain on relationships — and it appears to have the potential to actually strengthen some bonds, too.”

Key findings from the survey:

1. Homebuying Harmony 

• Those who bought their home with a partner were about 10 times as likely to say it helped their relationship (34%) as to say it made it worse (3%).
• Nearly half (47%) of respondents in B.C. say purchasing a home with a partner improved their relationship, followed by 46% in Atlantic Canada, and more than a third (36%) in Ontario.
• Men were more likely to say homebuying helped their relationship (41%) versus women (28%).

2. Love on the (Property) Ladder

• Buying a home is both a big step financially and for a relationship, as 77% of Canadian homeowners purchased their home with a romantic partner.

• Overwhelmingly, Canadian couples agreed on key decisions involved in buying a home.  For example, respondents were most likely to say they agreed with their partner on the type of property to purchase (94%) and proximity to a good school (94%) and least likely to see eye to eye on location (86%) and budget (85%), although the level of overall agreement remained high.

3. Homeownership on the Rocks  

• Just 3% of Canadians say buying a home with a partner made the relationship worse, while the majority (62%) state the transaction had no impact.
• For the very small minority who said buying a home with a partner had a negative impact on their relationship, problems that arose with the property (57%) and financial strain (56%) added stress to the relationship.

Additional Responses:  

 Methodology:

These are the findings of a survey conducted by Wahi from Dec. 14 to 18, 2023 among a representative sample of 1,508 online Canadians who are members of the Angus Reid Forum. The survey was conducted in English and French. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +/-2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.