In recent years, millennials have been moving from the suburbs to downtown cores. After all, in most cities that’s where the action is. Why live away from restaurants, entertainment and culture? Living close to the action also lets millennials walk or bike to work. For a generation that’s conscious of its impact on the environment, that’s another important consideration.
When taking the average suburban North American’s commute time to work and back into consideration, cities like Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver can average up to 90 minutes one way. Condo living simply helps avoid all that traffic day in and day out. After all, most attractive condo developments are built in the downtown cores of cities.
In a condo, issues such as maintenance and upkeep are handled by a building company and paid via condo fees. This exchange is perfect for millennials who prefer to spend their spare time on what they want to do, instead of mowing the lawn or trimming hedges.
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When it comes to deciding whether to rent or buy a condo, millennials need to consider a new trend in real estate investing. New investors are buying condos and renting them out. As of 2018 stats in Toronto, approximately one third of new condos are investment properties.
The rent they charge renters covers their mortgage, taxes and condo fees. In other words, if you’re renting a property that’s in a condo development, you’re paying that investor’s mortgage. So for the same monthly payments, why not buy a pre-construction or resale condo and pay yourself first?
Condo buildings also reduce the overall burden on a city’s utilities systems. Because of densification, cities need to install fewer water mains, sewage systems and electrical wires. This reduces losses since water and power are carried over shorter distances
The same concept applies to roads. One road can serve hundreds of condos instead of a handful of homes in the suburbs. It also reduces the heating effect of the road grid, removes the need to deforest land and reduces emissions related to snow removal operations.
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Being a generation concerned with its impact on the environment, it’s no wonder millennials are choosing the condo life instead of the suburbs.
Most new major condo developments come with a suite of amenities that make urban living much more enjoyable. Most modern large condo developments offer amenities like rooftop swimming pools (some even have sand), lounge areas, natural gas BBQs, fully-equipped gyms and green space. Not only would these amenities be out of millennials’ price ranges in a single-family dwelling, they’d also be a huge time commitment to maintain.
It’s just a fact, the residential real estate market has skyrocketed over the past decade. This has made single family dwellings in major cities out of financial reach for many Canadians.
Those same buyers turned to the cheaper alternative: condos.
What millennials understand is that the land most condos are built on is finite. There’s only so much real estate in cities. So with a limited supply of condos and increasing demand for them, millennials who buy condos are positioning themselves for a decent pay off years down the road. Millennials understand that buying new a condo is a great investment alternative.
As the largest living generation in North America, millennials are impacting the real estate market. Their values and approach to work-life balance is driving them towards buying condos. This is a major shift from previous generations that saw house ownership as a life goal. Millennials are simply opting for cost-efficient, dynamic and urban options which happen to be condos.
