As we have seen in the Toronto housing market, there has been a rise in the price of homes and while the supply can't keep up with the demand, many young buyers are finding themselves priced out of the housing market. While it is unfair, here are some helpful home ownership strategies.

Shared Home Ownership

Co-ownership is very common in the United Kingdom and this strategy has slowly started to gain traction in Ontario. As some of the real estate prices are going up in Toronto, some buyers are pooling their resources to procure a property. Recent Toronto examples have seen everything from purchase costs split evenly amongst the groups of buyers, to banks allowing separate mortgages between them, to renovation costs being split to divide the living space, to certain owners taking on specific property management duties, to monthly mortgage payments coming out of joint bank accounts, to life insurance policies being taken out to ensure the right owners will be entitled to their portion of the house in the event of another’s death, and so forth. This is something to think about, if you can’t afford to buy alone, are you able to with others?

Purchasing Pre-Construction

There are numerous benefits when it comes to buying a pre-constructed home. One of the major benefits about this is that you are able to purchase at a lower price than resale. When it comes to the end of the day, you are not only leaving the bidding war in the dust but also starting to accumulate wealth.

Heading to the Suburbs or Further Distances

To combat being priced out of the Toronto housing market, alot of Toronto millenials are now heading out of the big city and relocating to other parts of Ontario. According to Statscan’s latest intraprovincial migration data, Toronto has lost the highest number of young people since 1999-2000. Some of these buyers are encountering a greater amount of inventory, lower home prices and less competition. They are also finding new jobs or making arrangements with their current employer.

Taking Over an Exclusive Condo Assignment

Simply put, there is a huge inventory of available pre-construction condo units out there which have been built, are ready to occupy and remain empty. They are called assignments, referred to as such because the Seller is actually selling their contract with the builder, since they don’t own the actual condo yet. In other words, they’re assigning it. The kicker? Nobody really knows about these assignments because so many are exclusive listings, meaning they aren’t on MLS. By doing some legwork and finding one that suits your needs, you’ll most likely find a new unit without the burden of multiple offers, the bidding war or inflated prices.