As Toronto Baby Boomers downsize and move out, now’s the time for Millennials to Move In!

Across Toronto and Peterborough, look around. The housing market is changing in a big way! Older Canadians are in process of downsizing, selling off their city real estate and moving on to quieter, calmer regions in the province.

This is amazing news for millennials and prospective home buyers in Toronto. It’s also great news for smaller cities across Ontario who may see an increase in demand for properties from parents and older Canadians looking for the perfect home.

Much has been written about how unaffordable Toronto is for young people and retirees. For young people in need of employment and activity, there’s not much they can do about it except continue paying their rent and hoping to save enough to eventually cover a down payment. For seniors though, as they retire and no longer need the work, they have the freedom to go to perhaps a neighbouring city or somewhere that appeals more to where they’re at in their lives.

To remain in Toronto for the average retired Canadian, it’s going to mean living in smaller spaces. For millennials, this is something they know all too well. For mature millennials moving out from those smaller spaces and seeking bigger homes to raise their family in, we’re reaching a period in Toronto real estate where it might be the right time to buy. A semi-detached or detached house in Toronto can come in a range of sizes and price points. With seniors and older parents moving out, this provides more listings that millennials looking to settle down might find appealing.

Millennials moving in today have the potential of seeing big rewards over the next decade as Toronto real estate prices continue to climb. Though the last year presented some challenges, there’s no signs of price increases slowing down. In terms of investing one’s money, you’d find it hard to locate an investment opportunity as stable as Toronto real estate with as high of a return. In terms of value to cost, taking advantage of this downsize-and-move-out trend can benefit a lot of people looking for the right opportunity to jump into real estate ownership.

Now, take a market like Peterborough. Smaller than Toronto and with a mix of Canadians that own their homes, Peterborough is known for being a great place to downsize and retire to. Peterborough real estate boasts similar access to city amenities like restaurants, hospitals, and more, while still having a more ‘small city’ vibe. Peterborough is the kind of the vibe that a lot of seniors and retirees want, especially in the face of rising real estate costs in Toronto. In comparison, millennials have enough time to benefit from the rising real estate prices of Toronto. All in all, if you’re under-35, you’re in a great position to take advantage of a big trend that’s already ongoing.

Affordability in Toronto real estate is easily the biggest influence going right now on debates regarding whether to rent or buy, whether a young person should remain at home with their parents and head out on their own, and on whether to remain living in the same neighborhood you’ve been in for years. For older people, there may be better opportunity elsewhere in key markets like Peterborough. For younger people, investing now can reap them some major reward even five or six years from now. So ultimately, the next real estate decision any Canadian living in Toronto makes needs to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of the ‘baby boomer out, buyer in’ dynamic.

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