Real estate in Canada: Seniors rarely downsize, hurting new buyers

Posted by IHateTrains123

3 Comments

  1. WifeGuy-Menelaus on

    I wonder how much of this is pure preference for living in the exact same building (which I know plenty of older people would insist on even as costs mount), and how much is down to the dearth of good alternatives. They’ve been hoist by their own petard by denying housing alternatives in their own neighbourhoods, but I can understand the aversion to moving into a glass tower in a very different location.

    A regulatory/tax incentive regime that favours seniors letting developers redevelop their land into a a multiplex or small apartment building would kill a few birds with one stone. They get a newer unit thats built to be accessible for old people, they can get a secondary unit that provides them a steady source of rental income instead of non-fungible land wealth, the neighbourhood’s housing stock increases, and developers get easy access to otherwise expensive and prohibitive high value land. The seniors can stay in the neighbourhoods they know and love, and get some younger neighbours to boot. Neighbourhoods with declining school populations get an influx of young families.

    (also, egress reform for better apartment units that are more competitive with houses in desirability, and elevator reform so smaller apartment buildings can be accessible but affordable, so seniors aren’t necessarily stuck on the ground floor)

  2. Albatross-Helpful on

    >He acknowledged there’s a type of older Canadian who’s keen to cash out on the family home, move into a smaller condo or apartment and take on a new lifestyle. But these are the unicorns, he said.

    What is the point of high house prices if seniors never cash out ?

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