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A survey has found younger Quebecers aged 18 to 34 have the most desire to buy housing in the next five years among all adults, but financial and economic barriers remain major obstacles to dreams of ownership.
Forty-five per cent of respondents aged 18 to 34 said they intend to buy a residential property in the next five years, compared to 24 per cent of 35- to 54-year-olds and nine per cent of people aged 55 and older.
Among the 18- to -34-year-old cohort who said they have no intention of buying housing within the next five years, the major obstacles were all related to finances, including:
- their current financial situation (32 per cent);
- an unfavourable economy (29 per cent);
- high property prices (25 per cent); and
- not having enough for a down payment (24 per cent).
The survey shows younger Quebecers remain interested in owning housing, but the “path to homeownership remains challenging,” a release issued by the survey’s commissioners said.
The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers (QPAREB), government agency Société d’habitation du Québec and venture capital investor Fonds immobilier de solidarité FTQ partnered on the 2024 edition of the survey on buying, selling and renting intentions in Quebec’s real estate sector.
It was conducted in Q4 2024 by Léger and included 4,180 respondents.
What prospective homebuyers are looking for
The average expected price for a principal residence given by interested homebuyers was $457,000, a four per cent increase from 2023.
That reflects a narrowing of the difference between actual housing prices, and what buyers expect to pay for the first time since 2020. This shows buyers have a “better understanding of market realities” and a “certain degree of resignation,” QPAREB’s market analysis director Charles Brant observed.
Decreasing inflation and a drop in mortgage interest rates played a role in the shift, he said in a release. Falling interest rates factored into the decisions for 75 per cent of potential buyers who are now motivated to make a purchase.
QPAREB said the same factors were behind Montreal-area home sales rising 36 per cent year-over-year in January — to 2,812.
Just under two-thirds (65 per cent) of prospective buyers said they prefer to buy an existing property over a newly constructed home. Affordability was the main reason for half of the respondents interested in an existing property, especially among the 18- to 34-year-old cohort (63 per cent).
The second reason was location at 35 per cent, which resonated the most with home buyers aged 55 and older.
The results of the survey broadly match the findings from a nationwide home-buying intent survey commissioned by real estate technology company Wahi, which reported millennials were the most likely to say they would probably purchase a home in 2025.
That survey, which was released in January, reported 17 per cent of Canadians intended to buy a home this year. Of that group, millennials were the most active, with 23 per cent intending to buy in 2025.
Housing market expectations for Quebec in 2025
Quebec’s major housing markets of Montreal and Quebec City are among the most affordable in Canada, according to Q3 2024 data from National Bank of Canada. However, prices are trending upward, with Royal LePage forecasting “significant property price growth in the face of still-present inventory shortages” for 2025 in Quebec’s major urban markets, particularly Quebec City.
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Company (CMHC) has a similar expectation in its 2025 Housing Market Outlook. It projected significant price increases in Quebec City and Montreal, and does not expect housing affordability to significantly improve over the horizon.
“Property prices will remain a barrier to homeownership for many households,” CMHC said about the eastern Canadian housing market, which includes Quebec.
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