This Is How Long GTA Millennials Have To Work To Afford A Down Payment On A Home

If you're looking to buy a home in the GTA, or anywhere in Ontario for that matter, you might want to start saving now (if you haven't already).

A recent report by Generation Squeeze, an organization for intergenerational fairness, showed how many years Ontarians would need to save in order to buy a house in the province's pricy real estate market, and also broke it down by region.

With the current house prices in the GTA, a new homebuyer between the ages of 25 and 34 would have to work full time for 27 years in order to save enough money for a 20% downpayment for the average home. According to the report, that's 21 years more than how long "today's aging population" had to save up for when they were this age.

"To own a home, one must be able to save the down payment and carry the mortgage. Saving a down payment depends on the relationship between home prices and earnings," the report reads.

So, in order for millennials to buy a house with their current average earnings, Generation Squeeze revealed that the average home prices in the GTA would need to fall by over $750,000 in order to make it affordable, and so that they can handle an 80% mortgage at the current interest rates.

It's either that or salaries would need to be bumped up to $172,000 a year, which the report said is "more than triple" the current full-time earnings.

What about the rest of the province?

For prospective homeowners looking to buy a place anywhere in Ontario, it would take 22 years of full-time work to make enough money for a 20% downpayment.

In Ottawa, it would take 14 years for the typical young person to save the money; in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, it would take 20 years; in London, 19 years; in Windsor, it would take 14 years, and in the Hamilton-Burlington area, it would take 22 years.

According to the report, Ontario suffered the "worst erosion of housing affordability" seen by any Canadian province over the span of two years in the last half century.

"The findings presented in this report underscore that housing should be at the forefront of Ontario's June 2022 provincial election," the report reads.

"As concern with inflation and cost of living escalate, reining in the skyrocketing housing prices that are crushing affordability is a critical step to support younger and future generations, and renters and newcomers of all ages."

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.