Single-detached homes are still the most affluent type of housing in Canada, but apartments and townhouses are slowly gaining ground, according to the latest census data.
Figures for 2021, released Wednesday by Statistics Canada, show that 7.8 million single-detached homes in the country account for approximately 53% of Canada’s housing supply, up from approximately 54% in the 2016 census.
The federal agency found that the growth of single-detached homes has surpassed that of apartments in low- and high-rise buildings, as well as in townhouses.
Housing experts attribute most of the changes to consumer preferences, zoning regulations and lack of space to some areas, especially the famous city centers, which are already known for their high density.
The problem is one on the ground. We cannot grow itobservations by Murtaza Haider, a professor of data science and property management at Toronto Metropolitan University.
” This is a rare commodity for horizontal construction, but for vertical construction, you can stack floor after floor. “
Housing prices, which are beyond many people’s budgets, are also boosting demand for apartments.
The national average home price was $ 796,000 in March, up 11.2% from the same month last year, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). Excluding the hyperactive markets of Greater Toronto and Vancouver from the calculation, this average price dropped to $ 633,000, or $ 163,000 less.
Apartments tend to cost less than single-family homes. In the Greater Toronto Area, the real estate board found that the average single-family home sold nearly $ 1.7 million last month, while condominium apartments averaged more than $ 808,000. .
Ang enormous majority people still prefer a detached home, but Haider said many are forced to rethink their housing choice when reality will enter.
People don’t have that kind of income to buy homes worth more than a million dollars, especially if they are young and looking for a first home because they are first time buyers.he explained.
They go around the towers of this housing, either apartments or condominiums.
Growth in city centers
As these trends progress, Statistics Canada counted 1.5 million apartments in buildings on more than five floors nationwide last year. They accounted for 10.7% of the nation’s housing stock last year, up from 9.9% in 2016.
The proportion of apartments in buildings less than five storeys increased slightly to 18.3% in 2021, from 18.0% in 2016.
Townhouses saw a slight increase from 6.3% of housing supply in 2016 to 6.5% last year.
Much of the growth has been concentrated in and around the downtown cores of major urban centers, where millennials, who are likely to be the first home buyers, make up the largest portion of the population.
They represent more than a third of the population in the inner cities of large city centers, while baby boomers represent only one person in five of these same sectors, even though they make up the largest generation in the country. .
Downtowns tend to grow faster than larger urban centers, so what types of homes can you build downtown, where space is a luxury? You need the types of housing that will allow for densification, for more people to enterobserved by Statistics Canada senior analyst Jeff Randle.
An early piece of data, released by the agency in February, showed that more than 1.2 million people, or 3.5% of Canadians, lived in the downtown portion of one of the nation’s 41 major urban centers by the spring of 2021.
These town centers saw their population increase by 10.9% between 2016 and 2021, a faster rate than the 4.6% growth they recorded during the previous census period, which spanned 2011. to 2016.
Source: Radio-Canada
