Roughly three out of every 10 residential homes in Canada are owned by individuals who own multiple properties, according to new data from Statistics Canada.
Multiple-property owners hold properties to receive rental income or for other investment purposes. This can include recreational properties, which may also provide rental income.
“Individual multiple-property owners hold a significant share of the residential property stock, despite accounting for a relatively small number of owners,” StatCan notes.
This is especially true in Nova Scotia, where multiple-property owners made up 22% of all owners in the province in 2020, but held 41% of the province’s property stock. In B.C., they represent 15% of owners and held 29% of property, and in Ontario they represent 15.1% of owners and held 31.1% of property.
“Owners seeking additional properties contribute to increased competition in already tight real estate markets, making it more difficult for prospective homeowners to purchase a home,” the report noted, while adding that the overall impact on house prices and affordability wasn’t fully assessed.
The data found businesses, government and other entities comprised 1.6% (Ontario) and 2.1% (New Brunswick) of owners and owned between 7.6% (Ontario) and 10% (B.C.) of the property stock.
Housing inequalities unveiled
The report also explored inequalities in housing, finding that the top 10% of owners based on annual income earn more than the bottom 50% combined.
In Ontario and B.C., the top 10% of owners reported incomes above $125,000.
When ordering individual owners by the value of their real estate holdings, the top 10% of individual owners owned:
- 24% of the sum of all residential property values in New Brunswick
- 25% in Nova Scotia
- 28% in Ontario
- 29% in B.C.