Canadian Housing Statistics Program
Released: 2023-05-23
The article "A profile of residential real estate investors in 2020," released today, is the second in a series on real estate investors published in Housing Statistics in Canada. With this article, the Canadian Housing Statistics Program is providing a detailed profile of investors in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia for the 2020 reference year.
This article examines the demographic characteristics of investors and distinguishes between different types of investors to help clarify the nature of their role in housing markets. This analysis builds on the first article, "Residential real estate investors and investment properties in 2020," which presented initial data on real estate investors, with a focus on the types of residential properties they owned.
Key findings
Among the five provinces studied, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and British Columbia had the highest share of out-of-province investors and non-resident investors.
The share of in-province investors owning three or more properties in the housing stock ranged from 1.6% of all owners in New Brunswick to 2.9% in Ontario.
Established immigrants—those who landed before 2010—comprised a higher share of investors than their share of the provincial populations.
Residents aged 55 and older represented a higher proportion of investors than their share of the provincial populations.
Women represented around half of all resident investors in the five provinces but were underrepresented among in-province investors with three or more housing properties, relative to their share of the provincial populations.
Note to readers
Definitions
An investor is an owner who owns at least one residential property that is not used as their primary place of residence, excluding Canadian non-profit organizations. This category includes business and government entities, persons who live outside the province where they own property, non-resident owners, multiple-property owners and persons who own a property with multiple residential units who do not occupy that property.
Out-of-province investors are Canadian residents who live outside the province where they own residential property. They are considered out-of-province investors in the province of their non-principal residence.
In-province investors are owners who live in the province where they own two or more residential properties or a property with multiple residential units that they do not occupy.
Non-resident investors are owners whose primary dwelling is outside the economic territory of Canada.
Housing stock refers to all residential properties, excluding vacant land.
Products
The article "A profile of residential real estate investors in 2020," part of Housing Statistics in Canada (46280001), is now available.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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