Housing Statistics in Canada
Intergenerational housing outcomes in Canada: Parents’ housing wealth, adult children’s property values and parent–child co-ownership

By Aisha Khalid, Joshua Gordon and Michael Mirdamadi

Release date: May 1, 2024

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Overview

This article examines the association between parents’ housing wealth and the values of houses owned by their adult children. It also documents parent and child property co-ownership arrangements. The article follows a previous article that examined the role parents’ property ownership played in the likelihood of homeownership for children born in the 1990s. These articles use residential property and ownership information for the 2021 reference year for all provinces and territories, except Quebec and Saskatchewan.

Key findings

  • In 2021, around one in six residential properties owned by people born in the 1990s (17.3%) were co-owned with their parents.
  • Higher rates of co-ownership between parents and children were found in more expensive urban markets, such as Toronto, Guelph, Abbotsford–Mission, Vancouver and Victoria.
  • Parents’ housing wealth is most strongly associated with children’s property values in Toronto, Kelowna, Vancouver and Victoria.

Rising house prices have generated increasing concerns about housing affordability in Canada in recent years. Although average house prices in Canada have dropped since a peak in the spring of 2022, prices remain significantly higher than five years ago (Canadian Real Estate Association [CREA], 2024). Combined with rising interest rates, this has contributed to a decline in housing affordability (Hogue, 2023), especially for young adults hoping to enter the housing market. In pursuit of homeownership, young Canadians have increasingly turned to their parents for financial help. A recent report from the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce found that nearly 30% of first-time homebuyers in 2021 received a monetary gift from their parents, up from 20% in 2015 (Tal, 2021). However, not all young Canadians have access to financial support from their parents, contributing to inequalities in access to homeownership.

This article is the second in a series on intergenerational housing outcomes. It examines the role of parents’ housing wealth in the housing market outcomes of young homeowners. The first article of this series examined the relationship between parents’ property ownership and the likelihood of their children born in the 1990s to own residential property in 2021 (Mirdamadi and Khalid, 2023). It showed that adult children (aged 22 to 31 in 2021) of homeowners were twice as likely to own a home as those whose parents were non-homeowners and that their homeownership rate increased with the number of properties owned by their parents.  

The analysis in this article has two parts. The first part examines parent and child co-ownership (or joint ownership) arrangements to provide a better understanding of phenomena such as multigenerational households, co-investment, early inheritance and mortgage “co-signing” across the country. The second part estimates the association between parents’ housing wealth—measured as the gross value of all residential properties they own—and the value of properties owned by their adult children.

This research is part of a broader literature that investigates the transmission of economic advantages from parents to children. Parents can transfer such advantages to their children in several ways, including through direct financial support, childhood socialization, access to certain social networks and investments in education (Ermisch et al., 2012; Putnam, 2015). The first article of this series suggests that these mechanisms can play a role in explaining why the children of homeowners are more likely to own a home than the children of non-homeowners. Existing literature also suggests that the level of parents’ housing wealth has an influence on the value of the properties purchased by their adult children (Henretta, 1984; Engelhardt and Mayer, 1998; Guiso and Jappelli, 2002; Ma and Kang, 2015; Barrett et al., 2015; Pfeffer and Killewald, 2018). This article represents the first attempt to estimate that role in Canada, drawing primarily on administrative data (for more information on methods and data, see Note to readers).

Rates of parent and child co-ownership are highest in Ontario and British Columbia

Residential properties might be co-owned by parents and their children for several reasons. The property may be a family asset or a joint investment property, or parents and children may be living together and have purchased it together. Another possibility is that a property was bought together to obtain better mortgage conditions by virtue of the parents’ accumulated wealth or credit rating, without the intention of cohabiting. These arrangements are often referred to as “mortgage co-signing,” which involves being on the property title and on the mortgage loan (Galea and Alini, 2023). Parent–child co-ownership is investigated below to better understand the prevalence of these different forms of parental involvement in property acquisition.

Parent–child co-ownership is highest in the most expensive housing markets

In the jurisdictions studied, the share of residential properties owned by people born in the 1990s that were co-owned with their parents in 2021 ranged from 5.8% in the Northwest Territories (which includes the census agglomeration [CA] of Yellowknife only in these data) to 20.3% in British Columbia, as shown in Chart 1. Ontario followed British Columbia, with a rate of parent–child co-ownership of 19.8%.

People born in the 1990s can also own a residential property with people who are not their parents, such as a spouse or a friend (referred to as “other adult child co-ownership types” in the chart).Note  The data show that this form of ownership was the most prevalent in all provinces and territories covered by the study. Finally, 31.3% (Nunavut) to 41.6% (Prince Edward Island) of properties owned by people born in the 1990s were cases of “sole ownership,” where the only owner on the title was the adult child.

Chart 2 shows the relationship between rates of parent–child co-ownership and the median dwelling value from the 2021 Census for each census metropolitan area (CMA).Note  The results show a strong positive correlation between parent–child co-ownership and housing prices, indicating that greater affordability challenges may play a role in the phenomenon. Higher housing prices will also correspond to greater parental housing wealth, which may allow parents to support their children’s homeownership aspirations through forms of co-ownership.

Chart 1 Share of properties owned by adult children by co-ownership type, province and territory (except Quebec and Saskatchewan), 2021

Data table for Chart 1 
Data table for Chart 1
Table summary
This table displays the results of Data table for Chart 1 Parent–child co-ownership, Other adult child co-ownership and Adult child sole ownership, calculated using share of properties owned (percent) units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Parent–child co-ownership Other adult child co-ownership Adult child sole ownership
share of properties owned (percent)
Nvt. 12.5 56.3 31.3
N.W.T. 5.8 59.6 34.6
Y.T. 11.3 55.7 33.0
B.C. 20.3 42.6 37.1
Alta. 14.2 50.0 35.8
Man. 11.2 51.8 37.0
Ont. 19.8 46.9 33.3
N.B. 8.1 51.5 40.4
N.S. 10.0 49.8 40.3
P.E.I. 10.3 48.2 41.6
N.L. 7.8 52.7 39.5

Chart 2 Rate of parent–child property co-ownership and median dwelling value by census metropolitan area, 2021

Data table for Chart 2 
Data table for Chart 2
Table summary
This table displays the results of Data table for Chart 2 Median dwelling value (dollars) and Parent–child co-ownership rate (percent) (appearing as column headers).
Median dwelling value (dollars) Parent–child co-ownership rate (percent)
Abbotsford–Mission 850,000 26.7
Barrie 700,000 19.9
Belleville 424,000 12.8
Brantford 600,000 15.7
Calgary 460,000 18.4
Edmonton 400,000 13.9
Greater Sudbury 348,000 10.4
Guelph 750,000 27.1
Halifax 348,000 9.1
Hamilton 755,000 19.3
Kelowna 750,000 21.2
Kingston 492,000 17.7
Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo 700,000 19.5
Lethbridge 320,000 13.9
London 548,000 16.2
Moncton 200,000 6.9
Oshawa 755,000 21.6
Ottawa–Gatineau (Ontario part) 548,000 16.9
Peterborough 552,000 22.2
Saint John 200,000 6.6
St. Catharines–Niagara 552,000 19.5
St. John's 312,000 8.3
Thunder Bay 300,000 11.8
Toronto 980,000 27.2
Vancouver 1,050,000 23.4
Victoria 850,000 23.7
Windsor 420,000 11.5
Winnipeg 348,000 14.0

Around three in ten properties co-owned by parents and their children are likely to be mortgage co-signing arrangements

Most properties co-owned by children and their parents (84.1%) were owned by an adult child with a single property (Table 1). In a majority of these cases, representing half of all co-owned properties (49.7%), the property was owned by an adult child who was a single-property owner and at least one parent who was a multiple-property owner. In most of these situations, the adult child was living in the single property they own, and the parents were living in one of their other properties. These cases are likely situations of “mortgage co-signing” and represent around three tenths of all co-owned properties.Note 

For 34.4% of parent–child co-owned properties, the parents and their adult children co-owned a sole property. These may represent, for example, a multigenerational housing arrangement or a situation where a parent added a child to the title for inheritance purposes. This arrangement was more prevalent in the Toronto (42.6% of all cases) and Vancouver (46.1% of all cases) CMAs than in the other CMAs studied.

In the remaining 15.9% of parent–child co-owned properties, where the adult child owned multiple properties (see Table 1), most parents also owned multiple properties. This is consistent with earlier findings where most children who owned multiple properties have parents who also owned multiple properties (Mirdamadi and Khalid, 2023). In these cases, parents may be helping their children build investment property portfolios, including through co-signing arrangements. This raises the broader question of how many adult children who owned multiple properties received support from their parents. This cannot be answered directly with the available data. However, among people born in the 1990s who were multiple-property owners (5.9% of all homeowning adult children born in the 1990s), 29.7% co-owned at least one of their properties with a parent.


Table 1
Rate of parent–child property co-ownership by number of properties owned, 2021   
Table summary
This table displays the results of Rate of parent–child property co-ownership by number of properties owned Parent owns one property, Parent own two properties, Parent owns three or more properties and Total (appearing as column headers).
Parent owns one property Parent owns two properties Parent owns three or more properties Total
Child owns one property 34.4 33.7 16.0 84.1
Child owns two or more properties 2.2 6.0 7.7 15.9
Total 36.6 39.7 23.7 100.0

Immigrant parents are more likely to co-own properties with their adult children

Parents who are immigrants tended to co-own properties more frequently with their adult children than Canadian-born parents. Looking at all provinces and territories combined, almost half of co-owning parents were immigrants. This finding is consistent with the fact that co-ownership occurs most in higher-priced CMAs, as shown in Chart 2, and these CMAs tend to have higher proportions of immigrants in the population. In the Toronto CMA, for example, 80.9% of co-owning parents were immigrants. This is higher than the share of immigrants among all homeowning parents in the Toronto sample (64.4%) and among the population more generally (41.8%). In Vancouver, 76.9% of parents who co-owned properties were immigrants, compared with 59.9% of all homeowning parents linked to adult children born in the 1990s and 46.6% of the CMA population.Note 

The positive association between parents’ housing wealth and the property value of their adult children is strongest in Toronto and Vancouver

Parents’ housing wealth may influence the value of properties owned by their adult children (Engelhardt and Mayer, 1998; Guiso and Jappelli, 2002; Ma and Kang, 2015; Barrett et al., 2015; Pfeffer and Killewald, 2018). To date, there have been no attempts to estimate the magnitude of this relationship in Canada. The analysis below provides the first estimates of the association between parents’ housing wealth—measured as the total assessed value of the properties they own—and the value of each property owned by their adult children.

The analysis is conducted at the property level. That is, if a child owns two properties, each property is included and valued separately, rather than considered together. This is done to account for the fact that different properties may have different combinations of owners, and this will affect the calculation of owner income. Parents’ housing wealth, meanwhile, is measured as the gross value of all residential properties they own, regardless of their location. This includes all parents linked to their adult children. For example, if two children who were born in the 1990s are listed on a property title, each linked to two parents, then the parental housing wealth will be the sum of the assessed value of all the distinct properties owned by those four parents. This measure of housing wealth is thus the sum of gross asset values and does not consider liabilities, such as outstanding mortgages or any other debts associated with property ownership.Note 

To connect children’s property values to parental housing wealth, properties owned by adult children born in the 1990s are first separated into three groups (terciles) based on the distribution of parental housing wealth in each CMA: lowest (first), middle (second) and highest (third). Children whose parents are not residential property owners in the provinces studied are excluded from this analysis, as are the properties co-owned between parents and children.Note 

To estimate the relationship between parents’ housing wealth and the value of their adult children’s properties, it is important to account for the incomes of the adult children, as children of wealthier parents tend to have higher incomes (Mirdamadi and Khalid, 2023). This is because of factors such as childhood socialization, access to certain social networks and investments in education (Ermisch et al., 2012; Corak, 2013; Putnam, 2015). Taking adult children’s income into account helps control for these indirect mechanisms and therefore better isolates the potential importance of parents’ property wealth.

To control for adult children’s income, the analysis below presents the median property value of adult children at varying levels of their total income. Specifically, three total owner income ranges are examined: below $60,000, from $60,000 to $120,000 and over $120,000.Note  If parents’ housing wealth matters—through such things as inheritances and gifts—there should be significant differences in the median property values between the terciles of parental housing wealth, even within a given income range.

The median value of children’s properties, at these different income levels, is reported at the CMA level, based on the location of these properties. In addition, terciles of parental housing wealth are also calculated for each CMA. This CMA-level approach is designed to capture variations in housing values across CMAs and the role of parental wealth within each market. This also alleviates the issue that property assessments are conducted in different years across CMAs, making it difficult to compare property values across CMAs.

Limited potential role of parents’ housing wealth found in rural areas in most provinces

The first estimate of the potential influence of parental housing wealth is for properties in areas outside CMAs and CAs, referred to here as rural areas. Charts 3 and 4 present the results from two provinces, Ontario and Nova Scotia, as examples of this analysis.

In both provinces, higher adult children’s incomes are associated with higher median property values. This is consistent with the idea that higher revenues provide greater purchasing power to buyers and a greater opportunity to build savings.Note  In addition, for any level of total owner income, the difference in median property values between the terciles of parental housing wealth indicates the potential role of this factor.

Chart 3 shows that in rural Ontario, for instance, the median property value of adult children increases with the level of their parents’ housing wealth. For adult children with total incomes from $60,000 to $120,000, for example, the median property value for a child in the lowest tercile of parental housing wealth is $157,000, whereas it is $206,000 for a child in the highest tercile. This represents a $49,000 (31.2%) difference.Note  In rural Nova Scotia, the difference in median property values between the lowest ($131,000) and the highest ($142,000) terciles is smaller in this same income range, at 8.4%.

Chart 3 Parental housing wealth and children’s property values, by income group, outside census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations, Ontario

Data table for Chart 3 
Data table for Chart 3
Table summary
This table displays the results of Data table for Chart 3. The information is grouped by Ontario, outside CMAs and CAs
Total income of adult children owners (dollars) (appearing as row headers), Parents’ housing wealth, Lowest tercile, Middle tercile and Highest tercile, calculated using median property value of adult children (dollars) units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Ontario, outside CMAs and CAs
Total income of adult children owners (dollars)
Parents’ housing wealth
Lowest tercile Middle tercile Highest tercile
median property value of adult children (dollars)
Below 60,000 142,000 161,000 184,000
60,000 to 120,000 157,000 186,000 206,000
Over 120,000 181,000 215,000 251,000

Chart 4 Parental housing wealth and children’s property values, by income group, outside census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations, Nova Scotia

Data table for Chart 4 
Data table for Chart 4
Table summary
This table displays the results of Data table for Chart 4. The information is grouped by Nova Scotia, outside CMAs and CAs
Total income of adult children owners (dollars) (appearing as row headers), Parents’ housing wealth, Lowest tercile, Middle tercile and Highest tercile, calculated using median property value of adult children (dollars) units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Nova Scotia, outside CMAs and CAs
Total income of adult children owners (dollars)
Parents’ housing wealth
Lowest tercile Middle tercile Highest tercile
median property value of adult children (dollars)
Below 60,000 91,500 101,000 117,000
60,000 to 120,000 131,000 133,000 142,000
Over 120,000 129,000 179,000 192,000

Higher potential role of parental housing wealth found in larger cities

In most CMAs, adult children’s property values were positively related to their incomes and to the housing wealth of their parents, similar to the results found in rural areas. Charts 5 and 6 illustrate this finding for two CMAs, Ottawa–Gatineau (Ontario part) and Calgary. Results for other selected CMAs are provided in the appendix.

Adult children with parents in the highest tercile of housing wealth have higher median property values in each range of owner income in Ottawa–Gatineau (Ontario part). For example, for those with a total income from $60,000 to $120,000 in that CMA, the difference between the median property value of children in the lowest ($253,000) and the highest ($297,000) terciles was $44,000 (17.4%). In Calgary, a similar relationship is seen. For those in the same income range, the median property value of children in the lowest tercile was $273,000, whereas it was $321,000 for those in the highest tercile, a difference of $48,000 (17.6%). In both CMAs, the median values of parental housing wealth were similar in each tercile, and this may help explain the similar results.

Chart 5 Parental housing wealth and children’s property values, by income group, Ottawa–Gatineau (Ontario part)

Data table for Chart 5 
Data table for Chart 5
Table summary
This table displays the results of Data table for Chart 5. The information is grouped by Ottawa–Gatineau (Ontario Part)
Total income of adult children owners (dollars) (appearing as row headers), Parents’ housing wealth, Lowest tercile, Middle tercile and Highest tercile, calculated using median property value of adult children (dollars) units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Ottawa–Gatineau (Ontario Part)
Total income of adult children owners (dollars)
Parents’ housing wealth
Lowest tercile Middle tercile Highest tercile
median property value of adult children (dollars)
Below 60,000 224,000 270,000 294,000
60,000 to 120,000 253,000 270,000 297,000
Over 120,000 313,000 322,000 342,000

Chart 6 Parental housing wealth and children’s property values, by income group, Calgary

Data table for Chart 6 
Data table for Chart 6
Table summary
This table displays the results of Data table for Chart 6. The information is grouped by Calgary
Total income of adult children owners (dollars) (appearing as row headers), Parents’ housing wealth, Lowest tercile, Middle tercile and Highest tercile, calculated using median property value of adult children (dollars) units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Calgary
Total income of adult children owners (dollars)
Parents’ housing wealth
Lowest tercile Middle tercile Highest tercile
median property value of adult children (dollars)
Below 60,000 231,000 260,000 292,000
60,000 to 120,000 273,000 299,000 321,000
Over 120,000 348,000 380,000 412,000

Largest potential role of parents’ housing wealth in Toronto and urban British Columbia

The analysis of Toronto and the British Columbia CMAs produced distinctive results. In these areas, children’s property values varied the most based on parents’ housing wealth. This may be a result of the higher housing prices in these CMAs and the extent to which adult children may rely more on their parents to enter the expensive housing markets (see Mirdamadi and Khalid, 2023).

In Toronto, for example, adult children with a total income from $60,000 to $120,000 owned properties with a median value of $334,000 in the lowest tercile, compared with $451,000 in the highest tercile, a difference of $117,000 (35.0%).Note  In Vancouver, this difference was $178,000 (37.4%). While these larger differences between terciles are notable, they are consistent with the higher levels of parental housing wealth that adult children can draw on in these markets. For instance, in 2021, the median household parental housing wealth for adult children in the highest (third) tercile was nearly $4,000,000 in Vancouver.

Chart 7 Parental housing wealth and children’s property values, by income group, Toronto

Data table for Chart 7 
Data table for Chart 7
Table summary
This table displays the results of Data table for Chart 7. The information is grouped by Toronto
Total income of adult children owners (dollars) (appearing as row headers), Parents’ housing wealth, Lowest tercile, Middle tercile and Highest tercile, calculated using median property value of adult children (dollars) units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Toronto
Total income of adult children owners (dollars)
Parents’ housing wealth
Lowest tercile Middle tercile Highest tercile
median property value of adult children (dollars)
Below 60,000 398,000 451,000 524,000
60,000 to 120,000 334,000 371,000 451,000
Over 120,000 390,000 443,000 542,000

Chart 8 Parental housing wealth and children’s property values, by income group, Vancouver

Data table for Chart 8 
Data table for Chart 8
Table summary
This table displays the results of Data table for Chart 8. The information is grouped by Vancouver
Total income of adult children owners (dollars) (appearing as row headers), Parents’ housing wealth, Lowest tercile, Middle tercile and Highest tercile, calculated using median property value of adult children (dollars) units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Vancouver
Total income of adult children owners (dollars)
Parents’ housing wealth
Lowest tercile Middle tercile Highest tercile
median property value of adult children (dollars)
Below 60,000 554,000 629,000 783,000
60,000 to 120,000 476,000 541,000 654,000
Over 120,000 582,000 592,000 733,000

Toronto and Vancouver also stand out from other Canadian CMAs because the median property values of each tercile did not steadily increase with the income of their owners. Instead, property values of children in the lowest income range were comparable with those of the highest income range, and higher than the intermediate range ($60,000 to $120,000), consistent with a U-shaped relationship between values and income.

Further analysis of these two CMAs was undertaken to understand these unique results.Note  It was found that most of this pattern can be explained by a larger proportion of cases where children had low incomes while owning highly valued properties. For example, in Vancouver, 14.6% of the properties analyzed in this section had a ratio of assessed value to total owner income over 30.Note  Of these properties, the vast majority (94.6%) were associated with owner incomes in the lowest income range (lower than $60,000). In Toronto, 7.2% of the properties analyzed had a ratio over 30, of which 99.1% were in the lowest income range. The significant number of these high-ratio cases resulted in median property values for the lowest income range that were higher than for the other income ranges in these two CMAs.

Adult children with an assessed value-to-owner-income ratio exceeding 30 were more likely to be first-generation immigrants (born abroad).Note  In Toronto, about half (52.1%) of the high-ratio properties had at least one adult child who was a first-generation immigrant listed on the title, compared with 35.2% of all properties analyzed. In Vancouver, 65.4% of the high-ratio properties were owned by at least one first-generation immigrant adult child, compared with 37.3% of all properties owned by adult children.

This result may be due to distinctive patterns among immigrant groups in the use of wealth and income to purchase housing. For example, previous research by Statistics Canada suggested that immigrant populations—which are a larger proportion of the populations of these two CMAs than of other CMAs—were more likely to devote greater proportions of wealth or spending to homeownership relative to other investments (Morissette, 2019). In addition, the measurement strategy used here does not reflect other forms of liquid assets, such as cash savings and disposable assets, that can be drawn upon to support the purchase of residential real estate. This means that the results shown above may be explained in part by higher levels of disposable assets for immigrant families, including savings held abroad (Ley, 2010; Gougeon and Moussouni, 2021; Gordon, 2022).

Summarizing the potential role of parents’ housing wealth across census metropolitan areas

To summarize the relative influence that parents’ housing wealth may play in different CMAs, Chart 9 shows the relative difference between children’s median property values in the lowest and highest terciles in the intermediary owner income range ($60,000 to $120,000).Note  The largest relative difference in children’s property values occurred in the CMAs of Vancouver, Kelowna and Toronto, while lower differences were found in smaller CMAs in central and Eastern Canada. This result reinforces the findings of the first article of this series that parents’ housing wealth may play a larger role in these high-priced markets than in other parts of the country (Mirdamadi and Khalid, 2023). In less expensive areas, where parents’ financial support may be less important for the purchase of a house, such as in rural areas and smaller urban areas, the differences in children’s property values associated with parental housing wealth are smaller. 

Chart 9 Relative difference in children’s median property values between highest and lowest terciles of parental housing wealth, selected census metropolitan areas

Data table for Chart 9 
Data table for Chart 9
Table summary
This table displays the results of Data table for Chart 9 Relative difference in property value between lowest and highest tercile ($60,000 to $120,000 income), calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Relative difference in property value between lowest and highest tercile ($60,000 to $120,000 income)
percent
Moncton 4.6
Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo 10.2
Edmonton 12.8
Winnipeg 13.2
London 13.3
Hamilton 16.3
Halifax 16.5
Ottawa–Gatineau (Ontario part) 17.4
Calgary 17.6
Victoria 29.6
Toronto 35.0
Kelowna 36.3
Vancouver 37.4
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Note to readers

The data in this study are compiled from the Canadian Housing Statistics Program (CHSP) for the 2021 reference year. The geography covered in the study includes all provinces and territories, except Saskatchewan and Quebec. Homeownership estimates for the 2021 reference year are linked to tax data from the T1 Family File (T1FF) up to the 2020 tax year. Data in the T1FF include all individuals who filed a T1 Income Tax Return, combined with other administrative files from the Canada Revenue Agency.

Definitions

Homeownership or property ownership refers to the possession of residential properties, excluding vacant land.

Housing wealth in this study is the sum of the assessed values of residential properties owned by an individual. It is a measure of gross asset value and does not take into account liabilities, such as outstanding mortgages or any other debts associated with property ownership.

Adult children in this study are residents of Canada who were born in the 1990s. Their parents are those who have declared them as dependants, as reflected in the T1FF.

Linking parents and children in the housing market

The housing market outcomes of parents and children are linked by first creating “tax families” with longitudinal tax data from the T1FF. People born in the 1990s are linked to individuals who have declared them as dependants in tax filings at some point from 1996 to 2021. In this article, the former are designated “children” and the latter are designated “parents,” although being a parent in this context does not require a biological relation.Note  Once children born in the 1990s are linked to parents through tax files, they are then connected to residential property ownership data from the CHSP. The adult children studied in this article are the subset that own property (15.5%) among the broader population of adult children born in the 1990s who have been linked with a parent in the T1FF. For further details about the methodology used in the study and data coverage, see the Note to readers in the first article in this series (Mirdamadi and Khalid, 2023).

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Appendix: Parents’ housing wealth and children’s property values, census metropolitan area-level results

The table below presents the results of the analysis conducted for each census metropolitan area in the provinces studied. The values reported for each tercile of parental wealth and income range are the median property values of properties owned by people born in the 1990s. In this analysis, properties were only included when (1) all owners on the title were born in the 1990s, (2) all owners were linked to a parent in the tax data, (3) at least one parent owned a residential property in the provinces studied, and (4) the owners did not have a negative or missing value for gross income in tax data for 2020.


Table A
Median property value of adult child homeowners according to tercile of parental housing wealth and total income level
Table summary
This table displays the results of Median property value of adult child homeowners according to tercile of parental housing wealth and total income level. The information is grouped by CMA (appearing as row headers), Parental housing wealth group (appearing as column headers).
CMA Parental housing wealth group
Lowest tercile Middle tercile Highest tercile
St. John’sTable A
Median property value of adult child homeowners according to tercile of parental housing wealth and total income level Note 
1
Below $60,000 235,000 243,000 246,000
$60,000-$120,000 279,000 276,000 278,000
Over $120,000 323,000 307,000 332,000
HalifaxTable A
Median property value of adult child homeowners according to tercile of parental housing wealth and total income level Note 
2
Below $60,000 175,000 198,000 262,000
$60,000-$120,000 212,000 219,000 247,000
Over $120,000 270,000 292,000 291,000
MonctonTable A
Median property value of adult child homeowners according to tercile of parental housing wealth and total income level Note 
3
Below $60,000 131,000 132,000 144,000
$60,000-$120,000 152,000 153,000 159,000
Over $120,000 Note x: suppressed to meet the confidentiality requirements of the Statistics Act 180,000 204,000
Saint JohnTable A
Median property value of adult child homeowners according to tercile of parental housing wealth and total income level Note 
3
Below $60,000 120,000 138,000 130,000
$60,000-$120,000 156,000 157,000 177,000
Over $120,000 Note x: suppressed to meet the confidentiality requirements of the Statistics Act 212,000 215,000
Ottawa–Gatineau (Ontario Part)Table A
Median property value of adult child homeowners according to tercile of parental housing wealth and total income level Note 
4
Below $60,000 224,000 270,000 294,000
$60,000-$120,000 253,000 270,000 297,000
Over $120,000 313,000 322,000 342,000
KingstonTable A
Median property value of adult child homeowners according to tercile of parental housing wealth and total income level Note 
4
Below $60,000 207,000 222,000 257,000
$60,000-$120,000 234,000 231,000 251,000
Over $120,000 249,000 270,000 281,000
BellevilleTable A
Median property value of adult child homeowners according to tercile of parental housing wealth and total income level Note 
4
Below $60,000 155,000 153,000 150,000
$60,000-$120,000 175,000 181,000 190,000
Over $120,000 Note x: suppressed to meet the confidentiality requirements of the Statistics Act 204,000 204,000
PeterboroughTable A
Median property value of adult child homeowners according to tercile of parental housing wealth and total income level Note 
4
Below $60,000 211,000 207,000 252,000
$60,000-$120,000 230,000 240,000 241,000
Over $120,000 251,000 242,000 261,000
OshawaTable A
Median property value of adult child homeowners according to tercile of parental housing wealth and total income level Note 
4
Below $60,000 281,000 333,000 359,000
$60,000-$120,000 280,000 285,000 313,000
Over $120,000 319,000 331,000 353,000
TorontoTable A
Median property value of adult child homeowners according to tercile of parental housing wealth and total income level Note 
4
Below $60,000 398,000 451,000 524,000
$60,000-$120,000 334,000 371,000 451,000
Over $120,000 390,000 443,000 542,000
HamiltonTable A
Median property value of adult child homeowners according to tercile of parental housing wealth and total income level Note 
4
Below $60,000 267,000 283,000 321,000
$60,000-$120,000 264,000 294,000 307,000
Over $120,000 310,000 341,000 382,000
St. Catharines–NiagaraTable A
Median property value of adult child homeowners according to tercile of parental housing wealth and total income level Note 
4
Below $60,000 160,000 184,000 187,000
$60,000-$120,000 173,000 187,000 200,000
Over $120,000 214,000 229,000 235,000
Kitchener–Cambridge–WaterlooTable A
Median property value of adult child homeowners according to tercile of parental housing wealth and total income level Note 
4
Below $60,000 238,000 261,000 299,000
$60,000-$120,000 255,000 261,000 281,000
Over $120,000 295,000 296,000 307,000
BrantfordTable A
Median property value of adult child homeowners according to tercile of parental housing wealth and total income level Note 
4
Below $60,000 193,000 195,000 258,000
$60,000-$120,000 204,000 217,000 223,000
Over $120,000 222,000 259,000 281,000
GuelphTable A
Median property value of adult child homeowners according to tercile of parental housing wealth and total income level Note 
4
Below $60,000 255,000 301,000 308,000
$60,000-$120,000 275,000 305,000 318,000
Over $120,000 323,000 335,000 353,000
LondonTable A
Median property value of adult child homeowners according to tercile of parental housing wealth and total income level Note 
4
Below $60,000 161,000 180,000 200,000
$60,000-$120,000 181,000 199,000 205,000
Over $120,000 200,000 230,000 246,000
WindsorTable A
Median property value of adult child homeowners according to tercile of parental housing wealth and total income level Note 
4
Below $60,000 111,000 116,000 122,000
$60,000-$120,000 129,000 149,000 156,000
Over $120,000 155,000 187,000 188,000
BarrieTable A
Median property value of adult child homeowners according to tercile of parental housing wealth and total income level Note 
4
Below $60,000 273,000 304,000 321,000
$60,000-$120,000 277,000 293,000 301,000
Over $120,000 317,000 318,000 342,000
Greater SudburyTable A
Median property value of adult child homeowners according to tercile of parental housing wealth and total income level Note 
4
Below $60,000 188,000 192,000 190,000
$60,000-$120,000 204,000 208,000 213,000
Over $120,000 216,000 232,000 245,000
Thunder BayTable A
Median property value of adult child homeowners according to tercile of parental housing wealth and total income level Note 
4
Below $60,000 151,000 153,000 166,000
$60,000-$120,000 173,000 194,000 193,000
Over $120,000 217,000 216,000 231,000
WinnipegTable A
Median property value of adult child homeowners according to tercile of parental housing wealth and total income level Note 
5
Below $60,000 197,000 214,000 241,000
$60,000-$120,000 242,000 255,000 274,000
Over $120,000 290,000 300,000 331,000
LethbridgeTable A
Median property value of adult child homeowners according to tercile of parental housing wealth and total income level Note 
2
Below $60,000 213,000 214,000 233,000
$60,000-$120,000 259,000 261,000 275,000
Over $120,000 318,000 302,000 328,000
CalgaryTable A
Median property value of adult child homeowners according to tercile of parental housing wealth and total income level Note 
2
Below $60,000 231,000 260,000 292,000
$60,000-$120,000 273,000 299,000 321,000
Over $120,000 348,000 380,000 412,000
EdmontonTable A
Median property value of adult child homeowners according to tercile of parental housing wealth and total income level Note 
2
Below $60,000 216,000 247,000 284,000
$60,000-$120,000 282,000 302,000 318,000
Over $120,000 338,000 356,000 380,000
KelownaTable A
Median property value of adult child homeowners according to tercile of parental housing wealth and total income level Note 
2
Below $60,000 322,000 355,000 422,000
$60,000-$120,000 353,000 402,000 481,000
Over $120,000 522,000 525,000 582,000
Abbotsford–MissionTable A
Median property value of adult child homeowners according to tercile of parental housing wealth and total income level Note 
2
Below $60,000 291,000 442,000 444,000
$60,000-$120,000 332,000 383,000 490,000
Over $120,000 585,000 572,000 649,000
VancouverTable A
Median property value of adult child homeowners according to tercile of parental housing wealth and total income level Note 
2
Below $60,000 554,000 629,000 783,000
$60,000-$120,000 476,000 541,000 654,000
Over $120,000 582,000 592,000 733,000
VictoriaTable A
Median property value of adult child homeowners according to tercile of parental housing wealth and total income level Note 
2
Below $60,000 381,000 436,000 495,000
$60,000-$120,000 389,000 429,000 504,000
Over $120,000 479,000 582,000 607,000

References

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Mirdamadi, M., Khalid, A. (2023). Parents and children in the Canadian housing market: Does parental property ownership increase the likelihood of homeownership for children? Canadian Housing Statistics Program: Statistics Canada.

Morissette, R. (2019). The wealth of immigrant families in Canada. Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series: Statistics Canada.

Pfeffer, F.T., Killewald, A. (2018). Generations of advantage: Multigenerational correlations in family wealth. Social Forces, 96(4). 1411-1442.

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