In what was a long, cold winter for Toronto\u2019s property market, realtor Tom Storey barely felt a chill.<\/p>\n
As sales of single-detached homes slumped, Storey\u2019s downtown clientele of young buyers continued their pursuit of more affordable condominiums, picking them up at a heated clip.<\/p>\n
\u201cMillennials are probably 60 per cent of my business now so things didn\u2019t slow down,\u201d Storey said. \u201cThere\u2019s definitely an eagerness in that age range to get into the market because a lot of them have been renting or living with their parents and they\u2019re worried if they don\u2019t get in, they\u2019ll get priced out of the market.\u201d<\/p>\n
After a winter of depressed sales volumes in most markets, millennials are at the forefront of an overall increase in buying intentions across the country, according to RBC\u2019s annual homeownership poll.<\/p>\n
One third of Canadians say they are very likely or somewhat likely to buy a home in the next two years \u2014 an increase of seven points from last year and the highest level since 2010, according to the bank’s survey of 2,093 Canadians conducted by Ipsos.<\/p>\n
Millennials showed the strongest intention to buy, with 50 per cent of those aged between 18 and 34 saying they were very or somewhat likely to purchase within the next couple of years.<\/p>\n
\u201cMillennials have shown their confidence in both the economy and job market and are leading the charge in home purchase intentions across Canada,\u201d said Nicole Wells, vice president of home equity financing at RBC. \u201cYoung Canadians are getting creative in finding ways to get the keys to their home by getting help from their families and doing their homework well in advance of stepping foot on a property.\u201d<\/p>\n