The two-bedroom home at Dundas and Sumach streets that they share with their six-year-old son, Gabriel, is near schools, transit, grocery stores, daycares, barbershops, banks and restaurants.
It was an acknowledgment of how, in less than a generation, buying a home has gone from a financially challenging but relatively common milestone, to a pipe dream for many people, especially those without family wealth.
New census data won’t be available until summer, but the most recent statistics suggest home ownership is down among younger people.
The couple were only able to purchase because of a gift of $250,000 from Kumra’s parents.
“We pretty much can’t plan trips outside the country, or we’ll fall behind on our mortgage.
And while the proportion of buyers expecting family support has been consistent since 2015, the value of those gifts has grown along with “the meteoric rise of housing,” said Ipsos senior vice-president Sean Simpson.
A 2020 report from the Toronto Region Board of Trade and WoodGreen Community Services found people earning $40,000 to $60,000 a year have been priced out of Toronto.
Mike Moffatt, senior director of policy and innovation at the Smart Prosperity Institute, who also teaches at the Ivey Business School at Western University, adds that households could face another kind of crisis.
Moffatt fears it could take five to 15 years to sort out the region’s housing supply issue — which he believes is the main driver of unaffordability.
Kershaw says Canada has to think about how we build back better in terms of housing because we’re not as productive when it comes to output of work compared to other countries.
They had hoped to parlay their unit into something larger, but that plan is “kind of laughable right now,” Giulio said.
“We have a European-style fridge, it’s small for a family.