Post COVID Renters Ready To Step Onto Property Ladder
The real estate market has not only held up during the pandemic but has actually motivated more renters to become homeowners. “Ontario renters who are active in the real estate markets are nearly twice as likely to say they are more interested rather than less interested in buying a home because of the pandemic,” according to the Ontario Real Estate Association Pulse Check report.
At the front of the group interested in buying a home are millennials and those between the ages of 35 to 54. The report also found that more renters than homeowners are actively looking for a property – 63 percent of renters surveyed are searching for a home to purchase compared to 47 percent of homeowners. “Despite the uncertainty stemming from the pandemic, housing remains a strong sector of our province’s economy, with the Canadian Dream of home ownership continuing to be a strong value for many Ontarians,” says OREA President Sean Morrison. “As we look ahead and move towards economic recovery in a post-COVID era, we can expect even more interest as renters and first-time home buyers look to enter the market.
The report also shows a shift in attitudes towards suburban living. As a result of the physical distancing and isolation that Ontarians have been experiencing over the past months, just over three in five active in the real estate market say that living in the suburbs is more appealing to them now than before the pandemic.