High Housing Costs Make It Hard For Young Professionals To Save For Retirement And Repay Debt

Our recently conducted survey for Toronto Regional Board of Trade shows that finding a place to live in the Toronto region comes at the expense of saving for retirement and debt repayment for young professionals.

This is part 1 of a 3 part release on Young Professional in Toronto.

View part 2

View part 3

TORONTO, ON—

At today’s prices and rents, finding a place to live in the Toronto region comes at the expense of saving for retirement and debt repayment for young professionals (YP) according to the first of a three-part series on YP perceptions of the housing market released by the Toronto Region Board of Trade. The series is the result of a survey of more than 800 YPs in the Toronto region conducted by Environics Research Group over the summer and sponsored by Options for Homes and the Toronto Real Estate Board.

Key survey findings include:

83 per cent of YPs reveal housing costs are making it more difficult to save for retirement
65 per cent say housing costs are making it more difficult to pay off debt
86 per cent intend to purchase a home, with 30 per cent anticipating they will purchase in the next two years
33 per cent expect to receive financial assistance from friends or family to finance their purchase

infographic of data about differences of owning and saving

While 42 per cent of respondents say they own their home, a majority (58 per cent) currently rent. For those who rent, the top three reasons for not owning are: inability to afford a down payment at 75 per cent, location at 60 per cent and concern about their ability to afford carrying costs at 46 per cent

65 per cent say housing costs are making it more difficult to pay off debt

The email survey was sent to the Board’s

Young Professionals Network

and other YP groups in the region. Survey respondents were between the ages of 18 and 39. Forty per cent of respondents had a combined household income of more than $100,000 and 87 per cent had a university, or graduate degree.

This survey is a deeper look into the issues first raised by the Board in Environics’ bi-annual Focus GTA survey asking 387 YPs in the GTA about their aspirations of home ownership.

Learn more about the Toronto Regional Board of Trade

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