(Toronto) Economists at the Royal Bank of Canada say the country has reached a record number of renters, with their numbers growing three times faster than homeowners over the past decade.
According to a report by Deputy Chief Economist Robert Hogue and Economist Rachel Battaglia, two-thirds of Canadian households owned their homes in 2021, but the number of Canadian renters grew even faster.
Analysis of census data shows nearly five million households rented the house they lived in last year, up from 4.1 million households ten years earlier.
Economists say millennials born between 1981 and 1996 are fueling some of the rental growth because their homeownership rates are lower than previous generations at the same age, and because they face even higher house prices. higher than their predecessors.
Baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964 are also playing a role, overtaking millennials as the fastest growing group of renters over the past decade.
Economists predict that this growing demand will put “enormous” pressure on the country’s rental housing stock and that concerted efforts by policymakers, developers and builders will be needed to meet these needs.