Young Canadian Homeowners See Wealth Increase 220% Since 2019

The property rich are getting richer in Canada, a new StatCan report suggests, though net worths have been rising for many non-homeowners in recent years, too.

By Josh Sherman | 4 minute read

Canadians who don’t own a home may need to put off retirement plans, Canada’s national statistical office warns.

For those who can afford the cost of home ownership in Canada, the major financial milestone continues to pay off big time, according to a new report from Statistics Canada.

The Survey of Financial Security examines how Canadian families’ net worths have increased between 2019 and 2023, and it found that — shocker — “the biggest gainers were young homeowners.”

While it may come as no surprise that young homeowners are making serious bank, the extent to which their net worths are increasing may cause you to do a double-take.

The young homeowner cohort — which StatCan classifies as households in which the highest earner is under 35 and who live in a home they own — saw its median net worth soar to $457,100 in 2023, up from $142,800 four years prior.

That’s a staggering increase in net worth of 220% over the time it takes most of us to complete high school or a degree.

Nationwide, the median net worth for all Canadians, including families and singles, was $519,700 in 2023, having risen about 36% from $381,100 at the start of the latest survey period.

For those families approaching retirement age, owning a home and having a pension can make a million-dollar difference.

Homeowning families with a breadwinner approaching retirement (aged 55 to 64) and with a pension had a net worth at $1.4 million. But when home ownership and a pension are removed from the equation, the median net worth collapses to $11,900 for this age cohort. 

“The longstanding expectation is that families build up their assets and reduce their debts over their working years and spend down their assets during their retirement years,” says the StatCan report. “Canadian families with low net worth will be more likely to need to work longer, may need more government support, and may be at greater risk of poverty,” the agency warns.

At the provincial level, the provinces with the highest home prices also had the highest net worths led by B.C, where the median net worth was $773,500 last year. Ontario followed with a median net worth of $665,000. These were the only two provinces with a median net worth of over a half-million dollars.

High Housing Costs Push Some Canadians to Other Investments

Canadians families who didn’t own their primary residence also saw financial gains, although not anywhere near homeowners — and at a much lower amount, dollar-for-dollar. Households who don’t own the home they live in had a median net worth of $44,000, up from $26,700 in 2019, representing a 65% increase.

“Among younger families, the lowest net worth group consisted of those without a principal residence or employer-sponsored pension plan,” the StatCan report reads, noting the median net worth for these families reached $27,000 last year, compared to $10,500 in 2019. “Increasingly, with rising house prices shutting some families out of the housing market, and employer pension plans becoming less common, some young families are trying to build their wealth in other ways,” the report continues.

The share of families who have net worths above $150,000 without owning their own home has exploded in recent years as a result of investment decisions, the report suggests. Some 15% of households who haven’t purchased their principal residences achieved net worths north of $150,000 in 2023, something just 5% of these households managed in 2019.

In many of these cases, property was still a factor, as these families often had other real estate assets, according to StatCan. Other investments also helped, as these non-homeowner families had a median of $35,000 socked away in Registered Retirement Savings Plans and $20,000 in Tax-Free Savings Accounts. 

Given how real estate has boosted Canadians’ net worths, it’s easy to see why so many are still hot on the idea of home ownership.

In fact, among Canadians aged 18 to 38, 84% say home ownership is a good investment, according to a recent Royal LePage survey conducted by Hill & Knowlton this summer.

And regardless of the current higher-interest-rate environment and elevated home prices, 75% of these young Canadians who don’t own a home still say they plan to at some point.

“[T]he next generation of homebuyers remains committed to their pursuit of owning real estate, and are remarkably optimistic that they can make their dream a reality,” said Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage, in a statement announcing the survey results.

With the latest data from StatCan, it doesn’t seem likely young Canadians will be changing their minds any time soon.