A nice house or a nice life? Canadian Gen Xers overwhelmingly pick the latter: study

Condos | BCBusiness

Only 14 per cent of Gen Xers say they stretch their budget to buy the nicest house possible

Gen X homebuyers in this country don’t want their housing budget dictating future plans, according to a new study by Environics Research Group commissioned by TD Canada Trust.

Only 14 per cent of Canadian Gen Xers (people born in the ’60s and ’70s) view themselves as “House-All” buyers, meaning those with mortgage payments at the high-end of what they can comfortably afford. “More than two-thirds of Gen X Canadians have told us they don’t want their entire budget allocated to mortgage payments, said Nupi Zubair, associate vice-president of retail products at TD Bank, in a release.

Sixty-seven per cent of Gen X homebuyers in B.C. fall into the “House-Plus” category, defined as buyers who, once the monthly mortgage bill is paid, want enough budget flexibility to afford things like travel.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, B.C.’s Gen X cohort is markedly more concerned with proximity to lifestyle activities, at 79 per cent versus the national average of 69 per cent.  

And the number of Gen Xers in this province that are interested in staying put in their current home is lower than the national average, at 52 per cent and 45 per cent respectively. 

Nationally, sale price was the most important factor for this generation of Canadian buyers, with location a close second.