2021 Census | The homeownership rate is falling in Quebec

The percentage of Quebec households owning their homes, already the lowest among the Canadian provinces, is falling for the first time.

Andre Dubuc
The Press

Less than six out of ten Quebecers owned their home in 2021. The homeownership rate fell from 61.3% in 2016 to 59.9% five years later. You have to go back to 2001 to find an ownership rate of less than 60% in Quebec.

Across Canada, the proportion of homeowners is also eroding. It nevertheless stands at 66.5% in 2021, or 6.6 percentage points more than in Quebec.

The figures are taken from the 2021 census and they were analyzed by Statistics Canada on Wednesday.

Contrary to what one might think, it is not the rise in real estate prices that is the most important factor in explaining the loss of attractiveness of property. According to Statistics Canada, the reasons for the decline can be explained by immigration, the aging of the population and the lifestyle choices favored by young Canadians.

Surprisingly, affordability improved exceptionally in 2021 following lower mortgage interest rates and government relief programs as the COVID-19 pandemic raged.

The portrait has changed radically in 2022. “In my opinion, the downward trend in the homeownership rate will continue,” says economist Paul Cardinal. Currently, affordability is at its worst in Canada. »

Get rich by owning

This backwardness of Quebec in terms of property is not without consequence on the standard of living of its citizens. “It is easily demonstrated that the households which have acquired property have built up an asset which has appreciated in value. Usually, the owners have a net worth higher than that of the tenants”, supports the director of the economic service of the Association of the professionals of the construction and the housing of Quebec (APCHQ).

The net worth of homeowners of all ages rose from $325,000 to $685,000 in constant dollars between 1999 and 2019, according to Statistics Canada. That of tenants rose from $14,600 to $24,000 during the same 20-year period.

In other words, becoming an owner is a way to get rich. “It’s an old adage, but it’s been truer for 20-25 years now,” says Cardinal.

The APCHQ, the organization for which Mr. Cardinal works, is a group of general contractors that seeks to convince governments to favor the construction of housing, but the association has no preference between houses, condos or rental accommodation.

Quebec’s catch-up slowed in its tracks

Premier François Legault insists a lot on the importance of closing the wealth gap between Quebec and Ontario. To our knowledge, he rarely talks about the importance of raising Quebec’s homeownership rate to the Canadian level or to that of Ontarians, which is even higher.

Mr. Cardinal would welcome the provincial government setting a specific objective with respect to the proportion of owner households.

On home ownership, the CAQ made no promises during this election campaign, but the government announced that it would double the tax credit for the purchase of a first home and promised to harmonize its programs with those of the federal government as of 2023.

For their part, the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party are proposing to abolish transfer duties (“welcome tax”) for first-time buyers. The Liberals would increase the amount that can be withdrawn from RRSPs tax-free for the purpose of acquiring a first home. Québec solidaire proposes to further regulate the home buying process in order to limit speculation.

Quebec had started to catch up with the homeownership rate compared to the Canadian average. In 1971, the difference between Canada and Quebec exceeded 13 percentage points. Subsequently, the gap narrowed to 6.5 points in 2016. Since then, the catching-up process has been halted.