The Weekly 411:

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🤑 Ontario Limits 2025 Rent Hike to 2.5%

😲 Down Payment Gifts Hit Record High

👨‍👩‍👧 Young Canadians Priced Out of Parenthood

💸 Ontario's Most Affordable Cities for Home Buyers

Read Time: 4 minutes

👨‍👩‍👧 Young Canadians Priced Out of Parenthood

• Many young Canadians (20s-30s) are delaying having children or having fewer children due to high housing costs.

• 55% of Canadians aged 18-34 in a recent study said the housing crisis affected their decision to start a family.

• 38% of young adults (20-29) in 2022 didn't believe they could afford a child in the next three years.

• Rental housing crisis in Canada: low vacancy rates, high rent increases, and scarcity of affordable larger units.

• Canada's total fertility rate dropped to 1.33 children per woman in 2022, the lowest in over a century.

Why This Matters: it has significant demographic and economic consequences for Canada, potentially leading to an aging population, labor shortages, and changes in consumer spending patterns. It highlights growing inequality and the need for effective housing and family support policies to address the challenges faced by young Canadians. 

🤑 Ontario Limits 2025 Rent Hike to 2.5%

• Ontario's rent increase cap for 2025 is set at 2.5% by the Ford Government. This rate is the same as the previous two years

• Without the cap, the increase would have been 3.1% due to inflation

• Rent control only applies to units first occupied before November 15, 2018. 

• There is no limit on annual rent increases for units that came to market after this date

• Landlords can apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board for increases above 2.5%

😲 Down Payment Gifts Hit Record High

• A CIBC analysis shows an increase in family gifts for down payments among homebuyers in Canada.

• 31% of recent first-time homebuyers received a gift for their down payment in 2024, up from 20% in 2015.

• The average down payment gift for first-time buyers has reached $115,000, a 73% increase from 2019.

• In British Columbia, the average gift is over $200,000, while in Ontario it's $128,000.

• 12% of upsizing homeowners also received family financial help, averaging $167,000 nationally.

Learn more about the Wealth Transfer ​

💸 Ontario's Most Affordable Cities for Home Buyers

If you’re looking for affordable real estate options in Ontario, consider areas outside of the GTA (Greater Toronto Area).

Top 5 most affordable areas:

1. Sault Ste. Marie: $240,000

2. Thunder Bay: $270,000

3. Sudbury: $330,000

4. North Bay: $350,000

5. Windsor: $430,000

🤔 WTF of The Week

Housing market inventory has surged to levels not seen since 2009-2010, with active listings at a 14-year high while sales hit a 14-year low. Despite these conditions, which would typically lead to price reductions, home prices have remained stable. This price stability is largely attributed to the significant proportion of properties owned by investors who are reluctant to sell at a loss.