Worried falling Canadian real estate prices will hurt owners of all those new condos? Well, you can relax because the majority of them are investor owned. Data provided by the Canadian Housing Statistics Program shows most recently built condos weren’t owner occupied in 2020. The owner could have bought it to be a landlord, as a second home, or just needed a house shaped safety deposit box. In any case, Canadian cities have seen as little as 0% of recently built condos since 2016 go to end-users. Investors have outcompeted end-users for what’s generally considered the most affordable ownership option.
Ontario Has Seen Nearly 3 In 5 New Condos Go To Investors
Most of Ontario’s recently built condo apartments were bought by non-occupying owners. There were 58,100 units built since 2016 with known ownership, and 59.8% had non-occupying owners in 2020. Ontario’s recent condo building boom only saw 2 in 5 units bought by end-users.
The trend applied to cities of all sizes, even small and secondary markets. Small cities like Woodstock, one of the fastest growing for price, saw 100% of its 225 new condos bought by non-occupying owners. London saw over 4 in 5 (82%) of its 1,360 recently built condos suffer a similar fate. Investors in the much larger Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo region owned 81% of the 3,210 condo units recently built.
Ontario Has Seen 3 In 5 Recently Built Condos Go To Non-Occupying Owners
The share of condo apartments constructed after 2016 with non-occupying ownership in 2020.
Source: Canadian Housing Statistics Program; Better Dwelling.
Even high volume markets like Greater Toronto and Hamilton are majority investor owned. Toronto saw nearly 3 in 5 (58.7%) of the 44,740 recently constructed condos owned by non-occupying owners. Hamilton was just a hair under with 57.5% of its 2,315 units in 2020. That’s a lot of declared investor demand. Declared probably being a key term in Canada.
More Than Half of BC’s New Condos Were Owned By Investors
BC has seen more than half (54.3%) of the province’s 44,015 recently built units have non-occupying owners. Cities like Fort St. John (100% non-occupying owners) and Squamish (79.2%) lead the province in this area. It’s not just an issue in small markets though.
Most of BC’s Recently Built Condos Are Not Owner Occupied
The share of condo apartments constructed after 2016 with non-occupying ownership in 2020.
Source: Canadian Housing Statistics Program; Better Dwelling.
Large markets also saw the majority of new condos scooped by non-occupying owners. Greater Vancouver saw 52.8% of its recently built condos owned by this segment in 2020. Victoria (52.3%) and Kelowna (70.5%) also each saw non-occupying owners hold 1,000 recently built units.
It’s Happening Everywhere, Expect Ownership Rate To Plummet
Atlantic Canada caught landlord fever as well. Non-occupying ownership of new condos was high in Nova Scotia (62.6%) and New Brunswick (54.2%) in 2020. Yes, only a minority of the condos built in either province were owned by end-users.
Most of Atlantic Canada’s Built Constructed Condos Are Not Owner Occupied
The share of residential homeowners in Atlantic Canada that owned at least two homes in 2020.
Source: Canadian Housing Statistics Program; Better Dwelling.
With low rates across Canada, it’s become an issue virtually everywhere. Even in Manitoba the majority (51.5%) of new condos had non-occupying ownership in 2020. There was no ownership data for the other regions, but it being a cross section of regions shows it’s not just an Ontario or BC issue.
Canada’s speculative setup created the perfect environment for investors. Low rates and sub-1% property taxes combined to make a high leverage investment with low carrying costs. Since investors compete with and pass on costs, this can drive prices and rents higher. There’s a reason central banks warn low rates don’t improve housing affordability. Heck, research even indicates that low rates help to concentrate wealth.
Condo apartments are the “most affordable” segment of housing for homebuyers. If they’re outbid for these units at a rate higher than the ownership rate, expect the ownership rate to decline rapidly in the coming years.
