Solo homebuyers are on the rise in Canada

A new study finds more people are willing to buy a home alone rather than with a spouse or partner in Canada these days.

For most people, a home is the largest purchase in their life and traditionally it is tackled with a partner but a new study from real estate company Point2 finds more people are going solo.

Four in 10 renters (42 per cent) were willing to apply for a mortgage alone, according to the survey, which focused on renters’ homeownership plans.

The survey also looked at different generations and found older millennials (people born between 1980 and 1985) are the only age group that is still primarily considering buying a home with their spouse (50 per cent).

Gen Z (under 25 years old) is the most optimistic. Most want to buy within the next 12 months (72 per cent) and many have already saved up to $30,000.

The younger millennial group (under 35  years old) wants to buy within the year (57 per cent) and 76 per cent have saved up to $50,000.

Videos

Read More

The older generations also seem to want to buy alone.

Gen X renters aged 45 to 54 want to buy a home alone (47 per cent), but seem to be more worried about their credit score than other generations.

Baby Boomers, homebuyers over 60 years old, are looking for smaller, single-family homes (possibly in an attempt to downsize) but are mostly unsure about when they will actually commit to this decision.

Point2 suggests growing autonomy and a trend toward one-person households is the reason behind the increase in people going solo.

The number of people living alone in Canada has more than doubled over the last 35 years, from 1.7 million in 1981 to four million in 2016, according to Statistics Canada.

“The 2016 Census revealed that for the first time in recorded Canadian history, one-person households were the most common household type, overtaking households comprising couples with children,”  Statistics Canada stated.

The Point2 survey was posted on Point2Homes.com between March and June 2024. A total of 1,361 people participated, 890 of whom were renters. For this study, Point2 only took into consideration the answers provided by renters.

See the full survey report here.