Canadian Homeownership Building Much More Than Financial Wealth: A White Paper

From CREA

Canadians across the country take great pride in homeownership, and with good reason. While it’s true the financial benefits like building equity and investing are major driving factors, we continue to learn and study the social impacts being a homeowner can bring to individuals and families.

Countless factors can be attributed to the satisfaction one finds in life. Things like a sense of financial security, rootedness, and greater control over one’s life are key pieces in that puzzle. We all have differing opinions, and motivations when it comes to ranking those items, but that they can all be associated with homeownership is where we find consensus.

To add depth to these ideas we examined history, research and analysis from sources across Canada, the United States, Europe, and elsewhere in the world in our recently released white paper, The Homeownership Dividend for Canadians.

A “homeownership dividend” as outlined in the white paper, yields rewards not only for the direct homeowners, but also for the communities they live in.

The federal government has supported Canadians in their pursuit of homeownership for decades – it’s widely acknowledged for having a positive impact on the broader population, reaching past the boarders of income, region, and age. However, considering the comparisons in distribution of wealth in our country can be quite stark – it’s important to note that housing represents nearly 50% of the total net worth for the Canadian households with incomes below $56,495.

The ‘double dividend’—including financial and non-financial benefits, and individual as well as societal benefits have led to varying policies that have evolved through the years but the basic idea that homeownership is good for homeowners, communities, and the country holds true. From the Dominion Lands Act of 1872 to the creation of the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) in 1946, to the launch of the Home Buyers’ Plan in 1992 and the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive in 2019, the federal government has consistently played a role in helping Canadians fulfill their homeownership ambitions.

The fact remains that we are far from finished supporting people in achieving homeownership in Canada, especially with growing affordability concerns and increasingly competitive markets. Canadians continue to rely on their government to support and maintain this legacy.

To learn more, and discover just how far the benefits of homeownership reach, check out the white paper.

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