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The Generational Homeownership Gap in Canada: Homeownership Rates by Age and Generation

Updated

Younger Canadians own their homes at lower rates than their parents’ generation did at the same age, and more of the ones who do buy have help from family. This page sets out the homeownership rates by age and generation from Statistics Canada’s census and housing research, what it takes to get into the market now, how common parental help is, and the wealth gap that opens between young owners and young renters. It is part of our housing market analysis.

Homeownership rates by age

The census counts the share of households that own their home. In 2021 it was 66.5%, against a record 69.0% in 2011. The change between those two censuses was largest for young adults:

Age20112021Change (points)
25 to 2944.1%36.5%-7.6
30 to 3459.2%52.3%-6.9
70 to 7475.5%74.8%-0.7
All households69.0%66.5%-2.5

Source: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population.

Ownership is concentrated in the older generations. Baby boomers (aged 56 to 75 in 2021) made up 41.3% of all homeowners in 2021, while millennials (aged 25 to 40) made up 32.6% of all renters.

Millennials vs boomers and Gen X at the same age

A 2026 Statistics Canada study compared three generations when each was 25 to 39 years old, using the 1991, 2006 and 2021 censuses. Its homeownership rates count only those who had moved out of their parents’ home:

Generation at ages 25 to 39Census yearHomeownership rateLiving with parentsMarried with children
Baby boomers199155.9%8.2%46.6%
Gen X200656.2%not reported34.5%
Millennials202149.9%16.3%26.6%

Source: Statistics Canada, Millennials in the Canadian housing market: An intergenerational comparison.

The difference between the millennial rate and Gen X’s at the same age is 6.3 percentage points, and 6.0 points against the boomers’. Part of that is life stage rather than prices alone: a larger share of millennials still lived with their parents, and a smaller share were married with children, the household type that has historically had the highest ownership rate.

Gen Z is too young for a same-age comparison. The closest data is Statistics Canada’s count of tax filers born in the 1990s (younger millennials and the oldest of Gen Z): in 2021, 17.4% of those whose parents owned a home were homeowners themselves, against 8.1% of those whose parents did not.

The cost of getting in

Home prices have grown much faster than incomes since the 1980s, so each generation has faced a higher entry price than the one before; home prices vs household income tracks the price-to-income ratio decade by decade. How affordable the market is now, by city and province, is covered in housing affordability in Canada.

The down payment is the first barrier. At the national average resale price of $666,538 in September 2026 (CREA), the minimum down payment is $41,654, and qualifying for the mortgage takes a household income of about $150,200 (how the income figure is worked out).

Young renters are a long way from that. In 2023, the median renting family whose main earner was under 35 held $12,000 in liquid assets. Statistics Canada estimated that even if it put every financial asset toward a home, it would fall short of a 20% down payment by a median $80,000; for renting families aged 35 to 44 the median shortfall was $97,000.

Years to save the minimum down payment. A household that sets aside $1,000 a month would need about 3.5 years to save the $41,654 minimum on the national average-priced home, before any investment growth, and longer if prices rise while it saves. Closing costs come on top. How to save for a down payment covers the accounts and timelines.

The Bank of Mom and Dad

Family help is a common route into ownership, and Statistics Canada measures it several ways:

MeasureShare
Homeowners who received any family help to buy (a gifted or inherited home, a gifted or inherited down payment, or a loan from family or friends)4 in 10
Homeowners under 35 who received family help to buy (not counting general inheritances)one-third
Families whose down payment was at least partly a gift or inheritance, all ages9%
Homeowners under 35 whose down payment was at least partly a gift18%
Properties owned by people born in the 1990s that were co-owned with their parents (2021)17.3%

Sources: Statistics Canada, Familial support in entering the Canadian housing market (Survey of Financial Security, 2023); Intergenerational housing outcomes in Canada.

Inheritances add to it: the median inheritance received by homeowners was $85,100 in 2023. Parents’ own property counts most: adult children born in the 1990s whose parents owned several properties had a homeownership rate of 23.8% in 2021, nearly three times the rate for children of non-owners.

Lenders accept a gifted down payment from close family with a signed gift letter, while money borrowed from family counts as debt; gift down payments sets out the lender rules, and gifting money to family the tax side.

The owner-renter wealth gap

Owning a home goes with large differences in net worth between families of the same age. From the 2023 Survey of Financial Security:

Families by main earner’s ageMedian net worth
Under 35, own their home$457,100
Under 35, don’t own their home$44,000
55 to 64, own a home and have a workplace pension$1.4 million
55 to 64, own a home, no workplace pension$914,000
55 to 64, workplace pension, don’t own a home$359,000
55 to 64, rent, no workplace pension$11,900

Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Financial Security, 2023.

Among young families, owners’ median net worth was about 10 times non-owners’. Part of that is the home itself and part is who can buy: owners tend to have higher incomes and more family help. How much of all household wealth sits in housing, and the leverage that comes with it, is covered in household net worth trends; typical figures for each age group are in net worth by age.

Programs for first-time buyers

The federal programs aimed at first-time buyers (the First Home Savings Account, the Home Buyers’ Plan RRSP withdrawal, the home buyers’ tax credit and 30-year insured amortizations) and the provincial land transfer tax rebates are set out in first-time home buyer programs. The wider first-time buyer hub covers saving, qualifying and choosing a mortgage.

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Sources

The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them between September 25, 2026 and October 25, 2026. How we check facts.