Many BC residents between the ages of 25 and 35 were fortunate to keep their jobs and grow their savings through the pandemic. Now, helped along by historically low interest rates, this group is ready for homeownership.

A new survey from Royal LePage found that 49 percent of BC residents aged 25 to 35 own their own home, with 27 percent of those owners making a purchase since the pandemic began last March.

For those BC residents that didn’t own a home, 65 percent said they wanted to buy within the next five years.

It’s an encouraging sign that Millennial-aged residents are seeing a path to homeownership, even in the expensive Vancouver region where home and rent prices are some of the highest in the country.

“Low interest rates are oxygen for the market,” said Adil Dinani, a sales agent with Royal LePage in the Vancouver region. “Younger buyers have a positive association with home ownership. They see the value in it and they’ve done the math. Currently, a monthly mortgage payment can equate to little more than renting.”

The survey found that the overwhelming majority — 91 percent — of 25 to 35 year-old BC residents believe home ownership is a good investment. Dinani said that he’s observed his clients in this age group taking advantage of lower interest rates to buy larger starter homes.

“Over the last year, I’ve noticed a shift in priorities where first-time buyers are increasingly valuing size and outdoor space over location,” he said.

According to Royal LePage, the trends observed in BC played out similarly across Canada. At the national level, the brokerage found that 72 percent of Canadians in this age range were confident with their short-term financial situation. At 68 percent, the proportion of non-homeowning Canadians that were looking to buy within the next five years was slightly higher than the BC result for this demographic.

“In many ways, the pandemic has sucked the joy out of our normally kinetic young adults’ lives. No dining out, no concerts with friends or winter escapes to the sunny south,” said Royal LePage CEO Phil Soper.

“Even retail therapy has lost its luster when no one will see those new shoes on the next Zoom call. The silver lining is in soaring savings; unspent money that is finding its way into real estate investments,” he added.

Young Buyers Jump Into BC’s Housing Market Thanks to Low Mortgage Rates, Growing Savings by Sean MacKay | Livabl