Economic and Social Reports
Familial support in entering the Canadian housing market
DOI: https://doi.org/10.25318/36280001202500300001-eng
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This spotlight article presents recent findings on inheritances from the 2023 Survey of Financial Security. It highlights the level of familial support many young homeowners have received when entering the housing market.
Owning a home remains a critical source of wealth accumulation for many Canadian families, with real estate equity representing 42% of overall household wealth in 2023. The link between homeownership and wealth creation is even more pronounced for younger families, with housing assets accounting for nearly half of total wealth. As housing affordability deteriorated, the barriers to homeownership have become increasingly prohibitive, particularly for those without familial support. In 2019, 3 in 10 homeowners reported receiving an inheritance at a median value of $67,000, while 2 in 10 renters received a median value of $33,000. As home values appreciated strongly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic period, so too did inheritances for homeowners. By 2023, the median inheritance Canadian homeowners received had risen to $85,100 (Chart 1).
Data table for Chart 1
| Renters | Homeowners | |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 dollars | ||
| Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Financial Security, 2023. | ||
| 2019 | 33,000 | 67,000 |
| 2023 | 29,800 | 85,100 |
A looming wave of interfamilial wealth transfers is set to occur as baby boomers age, putting those with familial means in a more secure financial situation than those without. A wealth transfer in the form of an inheritance, whether from a living or deceased relative, is just one way many homeowners have benefited from familial support when entering the housing market. Other forms of assistance, such as receiving partial or full downpayment gifts, borrowing from family members rather than a bank, or receiving intergenerational property transfers, are also potentially important forms of familial support and are reported in Statistics Canada’s Survey of Financial Security.
Across all age cohorts, 5% of families were living in a home that was acquired in full or in part from a gift or an inheritance, and 9% reported that at least some of the downpayment for their home had been from a gift or an inheritance. When combined with those who borrowed from family and friends rather than a financial institution to purchase their home, the overall share of homeowners who benefited from an inheritance or other types of familial support to enter the housing market rose to 4 in 10.
Familial support more prevalent among young homeowners
Familial support was even more pronounced among young families whose primary earner was aged under 35. Per Mirdamadi & Khalid (2023), Canadians born in the 1990s whose parents were homeowners were twice as likely to own a home in 2021 than those whose parents were non-homeowners. Furthermore, the children of multiple homeowners were nearly three times more likely to own a home (Mirdamadi & Khalid, 2023). Although fewer young families had received a general inheritance (18%) than older families, homeowners under 35 years of age were twice as likely to report that at least part of their downpayment was a gift (18%), and 6% lived in a home that was acquired in part or in full from a gift. Although only slightly higher than the all-ages cohort, the share of young families in a home that was gifted to them was twice as high as the share for those aged 35 to 44 (3%). Excluding general inheritances without the explicit intention of being used toward the purchase of a home, one-third of under 35 homeowners received familial support to enter the housing market, the highest proportion of any age cohort (Chart 2).
Data table for Chart 2
| Percent | |
|---|---|
| Note: Familial support includes family units who reported either that their home was part of a gift or an inheritance, or that they received part of their downpayment as a gift or an inheritance or borrowed it from family and friends.
Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Financial Security, 2023. |
|
| All ages | 20.4 |
| Under 35 | 32.9 |
| 35 to 44 | 27.0 |
| 45 to 54 | 20.6 |
| 55 to 64 | 15.5 |
| 65 and over | 14.2 |
When combining general inheritances with all intrafamily support available for homeownership, the differences in support systems between renters and homeowners were considerable (Chart 3).
Data table for Chart 3
| Percent | |
|---|---|
| Note: Familial support includes family units who reported either that their home was part of a gift or an inheritance, or that they received part of their downpayment as a gift, an inheritance or borrowed it from family and friends.
Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Financial Security, 2023. |
|
| Renters | |
| All ages | 9.5 |
| Under 35 | 7.0 |
| Homeowners | |
| All ages | 42.0 |
| Under 35 | 37.0 |
Median renters’ savings well below downpayment threshold
In 2023, renters made up over one-third (35%) of Canadian families and over half (56%) of those under 35 years old. While choosing to rent can be a personal preference for many Canadians, rental rates vary across provinces and urban and rural areas. This is particularly evident in downtown cores, where the rental rate (69.5%) is more than double that outside of downtown (31.6%). Renters were more than twice as likely as homeowners to experience unaffordable housingNote conditions (Statistics Canada, 2023). Inflationary pressures since early 2021, combined with unaffordable shelter costs for a significant share of renting families, make it particularly difficult for young families to save for a downpayment.
In 2023, the median renting family aged under 35 held $12,000 in liquid assets.Note By contrast, the median homeowner aged under 35 reported a principal residence with a median market value of $460,000, in addition to $37,000 in liquid assets. Even in a theoretical scenario where a young renting family liquidated all its available financial assets to purchase a home, it would still fall short of the 20% downpayment threshold by a median value of $80,000. The median inheritance for young homeowners was nearly $45,000 more than for renters of the same cohort, providing a generous advantage to their purchasing power. Similarly, renting families in the 35-to-44 age group faced a median shortfall of $97,000 below the 20% downpayment threshold. These differences highlight the substantial barriers many renting families face when attempting to enter the housing market without familial support.
Financial safety net improving for renters
While the majority of renting households have not received an inheritance, some do receive financial assistance for living expenses from family members. Though not enough to enter the housing market, these supports provide an additional financial safety net to navigate the elevated cost of living following the pandemic. Nearly 2 in 10 households under 35 years of age received familial assistance toward living expenses in 2022.
Despite the financial barriers to homeownership, economic resilience indicators have improved for most renters. To be considered asset resilient in 2023, a person living alone would require liquid assets of approximately $6,900. A household of four would require $13,500 or $3,500 per person to meet the minimum after-tax, low income measure (LIM-AT) threshold for three months. Asset resilience is a measure of the financial safety net families have built to withstand sudden economic hardships. The proportion of renters with sufficient liquid assets to absorb a loss of income for three months increased from 4 in 10 in 2019 to 5 in 10 in 2023. By contrast, homeowners were much more likely to be asset resilient, with four in five having sufficient assets to cover expenses (Statistics Canada, 2025).
Although shelter costs differ significantly between cities and provinces, the rising barriers to homeownership are felt nationwide. CIBC reported that both the share of first-time homebuyers who received a downpayment gift and the size of the gift itself were elevated in the heated housing markets of British Columbia and Ontario compared with the national average (Tal & Judge, 2024). Owning a home has long been critical for wealth accumulation, particularly among younger households and middle-class families. Delayed or inaccessible entry into the housing market for those without familial support may contribute to heightened inequality as wealth is transferred from older generations in the coming years. As the likelihood of homeownership becomes more dependent on intrafamily transfers, it may hinder socioeconomic mobility, particularly for those in vulnerable population groups.
Authors
Carter McCormack is with the Strategic Analysis, Publications and Training Division, Analytical Studies and Modelling Branch, at Statistics Canada. Timothy Sheridan is with the Centre for Income and Socioeconomic Well-being Statistics, Labour Market, Education and Socioeconomic Well-being Branch, at Statistics Canada.
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