It's becoming increasingly difficult for young families to own their own home.
This perception has been drilled into our consciousness thanks to a plethora of anecdotal evidence over the years, but a report from Statistics Canada last week puts the issue into some sobering perspective. It seems home ownership among young families actually increased over the 25-year period from 1981 to 2006, but the keys to that home, not surprisingly, were inextricably linked to household income.
The Stats Can study divided young families into five groups based on income levels and this is where the disparity really reared its head. The top two groups both saw home ownership rates rise, while the bottom two both experienced a pretty significant drop. Almost 50 per cent of the lowest income earners were able to afford to buy their own place in 1981, a figure that had declined to 35 per cent by 2006.
The numbers are all national in nature, so I would imagine the situation is even more acute on the West Coast, which has become one of the most unaffordable places to live on the planet.
At one point in time, buying a home went along with getting married, establishing a career and having kids. Both Ladner and Tsawwassen grew out of this social norm, the opening of the George Massey Tunnel providing cheap real estate for young couples to start a life together here a half-century ago.
Over the years, however, this area, as well as pretty much everywhere else in the Lower Mainland, has simply become too expensive for many young families.
That's not necessarily anyone's fault, but it does come with consequences, including a shift in demographics.
More than that, it means a generation of Canadians, and likely another to follow, won't have the security as well as the nest egg that have long been provided by home ownership. Those young couples that don't build equity in a home will eventually become elderly couples that will more than likely require greater support from government or society.
As home ownership becomes more of a dream and less of a reality for a growing number of modest-income Canadians, the fabric of this country will change, and not for the better. Economic factors are often difficult to control, but more needs to be done to ensure young families have places they can call their own.
It might be back-in-the-day thinking to suggest home ownership is a given, but the advantages of such simply can't be ignored.
