BY GREG CHISHOLM
From a very young age, everyone is taught that to be successful you need to work hard in school, get good grades, get a good job, get a house and can provide for a family.
That was the dream that so many have had for the last several generations but today’s youth are having a serious problem getting out of their parents houses and into homes of their own.
Is the dream of the “perfect” life is just that, a dream? In the rapidly growing housing market in the GTA not only is inventory on the rise, prices are on the rise.
Heidi Deveau, an Oakville realtor who deals a lot with first time buyers feel that most people aren’t getting started until their 25 and as old as 33 because they may not be getting a fair shot at the opportunity.
“Many youth are being pushed out of the market due to higher volumes of bidding wars.” said Deveau. She added “What I have found is that first time buyers are giving up and waiting until the following year only to discover that not only do mortgage rules change but so does the market. “
The inflated cost of the housing market isn’t reflected in the average income. Many entry-level jobs are being stripped from companies and being replaced with unpaid internships that is forcing the next generation of homebuyers to stay with their parents longer to build up enough equity to qualify for a mortgage.
The average price for a house in the GTA hit $747,000 as recently as August of this year according to the Toronto Real Estate Board. With prices rising, more people want in for a strong long-term investment however, opportunities are being taken away and sold to the highest bidder, often, foreign investors.
When young professionals finally do have the capital to go out and get a condo or home in the GTA, they are often being outbid. This was especially true for one such man, Chad March.
March is a 27-year-old professional working as a marketing consultant. Since completing his degree at Brock University he has been living at home working hard and saving for five years so he could buy a condo downtown Toronto be independent.
Since starting his search in the spring March has offered on over eight condos in Toronto, in several different neighbourhoods. At first he began trying to get a deal and save a little money on the asking price but he quickly learned that every property would go for well over asking.
“I never expected that at this stage in my life I would be living at home with my mom,” March recalled. “I keep getting outbid by foreign investors who plan on just renting out the units or letting them sit unoccupied. It’s frustrating.”
As recently as this week March had gone in well over asking price on a condo in Liberty Village only to discover he was outbid by another $20,000. “How can I afford a place when they’re going for $35,000 over the asking price.”
March’s frustrations are not an uncommon complaint for young professionals in the GTA. Deveau deals a lot with first time homebuyers around the GTA and has noticed a pattern. “I find that young first time buyers are not necessarily well educated in buying a first home. The expectations tend to be too high and many are disappointed in what they can afford versus what they want in a home.”
