Saturday, March 29, 2025
Immigrants surpass Canadian-born in homeownership with 69.7% ownership. Cultural values, smart investments, and family strategies drive the trend.
In a surprising turn of events revealed by the latest Statistics Canada census, immigrants in Canada—especially those who have lived in the country for over five years—now own homes at a higher rate than Canadian-born citizens.
According to the report, 69.7% of established immigrants (residing in Canada for 5+ years) are homeowners, significantly exceeding the 61.9% rate for Canadian-born residents. This data disrupts traditional assumptions about affordability and access in the Canadian housing market.
Several key factors explain this growing trend:
Many immigrant communities, particularly those from South Asian and Chinese backgrounds, deeply value property ownership. For them, owning a home symbolizes success, stability, and generational advancement.
Co-ownership between parents and adult children is also more common among immigrant families. In major cities like Toronto and Vancouver, over 75% of co-owning parents are immigrants, demonstrating strong intergenerational financial collaboration.
Immigrants who have lived in Canada for over a decade often achieve greater financial security. Data shows that those in the country for 15+ years have 405 occupied housing units per 1,000 people, compared to 394 per 1,000 among Canadian-born.
Many immigrants arrive through skilled worker programs, which contribute to higher long-term earnings, enabling real estate investments.
Immigrant households are more likely to include multiple generations. Pooling resources helps them overcome affordability barriers, especially in expensive urban areas.
Unlike Canadian-born residents, immigrants are less likely to have employer pension coverage. As a result, homeownership becomes a vital pillar in their retirement planning. Housing assets represent a significant share of wealth for many immigrant families.
While established immigrants thrive, newcomers face serious challenges. With only 38.7% homeownership, recent immigrants often encounter high housing prices, low credit scores, and difficulty accessing loans.
The Canadian Housing Survey reports that only 63% of recent immigrants are satisfied with housing, compared to the national average of 82%.
In Vancouver, for instance, the average price of single-detached homes owned by recent immigrants is $2.34 million, well above the $1.52 million average for Canadian-born homeowners. This reflects the tendency of newcomers to settle in culturally familiar but high-cost cities.
This shift highlights the urgent need for inclusive housing policies. Immigrants are reshaping the real estate market through strategic, culturally rooted financial decisions. Policymakers must now consider these dynamics in housing affordability, infrastructure, and retirement planning strategies.
