A new study finds that some 80% of Canadian baby boomers plan to stay put in their homes in the next five years, as a majority consider their local housing market unaffordable for retirement.
The Leger and Royal LePage survey of 1,000 Canadians aged 54 to 72 suggests that six in 10 baby boomers are opting to renovate their current house rather than buy a new home.
That leaves some 17%, or 1.4 million baby boomers, planning to buy and sell homes in the next five years.
The study finds that about half of baby boomers plan to downsize, but there is no trend toward a single type of home they plan to buy.
About 56% of the baby boomers surveyed online in mid-July said they consider the neighbourhoods they currently live in unaffordable, but that number jumps to 63% in Ontario and 78% in British Columbia.
The study also says many baby boomers expect to have children who are in their twenties and thirties living with them and that 47% of boomers expect to help their children with the purchase of a home.
If asked for assistance by their children, 41% of baby boomers said they would give less than 25% of the home’s total value, while 5% would give 25% of the home purchase price or higher.