A tough housing market could revive multigenerational homes, poll suggests

Canadians shopping for a home say they are willing to live with mom and dad just to be able to afford a home, a new poll by the Royal Bank of Canada has found.

More than half (53 per cent) of respondents looking to buy their next or first home within the next two years said they would consider living in a multi-generational home, the RBC Home Ownership Poll found.

However, the enthusiasm for multi-generational living is not necessarily matched by mom and dad. In contrast to prospective homebuyers, 35 per cent of current homeowners say they would sell their home and buy one with their children to help them get into the market.

Driving this trend is the high cost of housing, the poll found. Among prospective buyers, 34 per cent said multi-generational living is becoming more common because of housing affordability, while 32 per cent said it was a “smart way” for families to manage housing costs.

However, it is still not the preferred choice for many as more than a quarter (26 per cent) said they would only consider a multi-generational home out of necessity, not choice.

Conventional homebuying wisdom says a new entrant should buy a starter home before moving on to a bigger house. But many homebuyers today are skipping the starter home altogether.

The average prospective buyer feels they will be 41 when they buy their first home, while current homeowners said they were 29 when they first bought theirs.

Instead of a starter home, nearly three-quarters (74 per cent) said they would rather purchase a home within the next two years that they can stay in longer, rather than one they will outgrow.

“We look at what a larger purchase does to the monthly payment against what moving up in five years would cost. For some, the bigger first home is the better decision. For others it isn’t, and it’s worth knowing which of those two scenarios fits your situation before you start looking,” said Brad Evjen, senior mortgage specialist at RBC.