Pre Covid, the common theme when purchasing a home was to drive until you qualify, in other words, the further out you go from the Toronto core, the cheaper real estate was. Since covid this entire phenomenon has been turned upside down.
With real estate assets at record highs and little in the way of cost savings by going further out of the Toronto core, the most common question I get from first time home buyers and/or the parents financially supporting their purchases: What options are left?
One trend that has really picked up steam since the middle of Covid is multi generational home ownership. Based on anecdotes from my contacts in the mortgage lending space, the sentiment is the same: the # of applicants per mortgage application has increased as a % of total applications and continues to do so. This can take many forms such as siblings buying real estate together, grandparents and parents moving in together, parents and kids pooling resources to move into a larger home to live in, and so on.
An interesting article published by Toronto life in 2020 highlights the thought process of such an arrangement. The popularity of such living will increase out of necessity and its inherent financial efficiency, this begs the question: what type properties will be the beneficiaries of such a shift in demand in the future and where are the opportunities now? The obvious are the large detached homes where layout and parking will be the critical points for consideration. The not so obvious and likely the biggest winners will be larger lots in older subdivisions allowing for accessory dwellings as well as laneway properties, more on this in my next post. #toronto #realestate #multigenerational
