To some degree that is true, however, when I bought my first house for $25000.00 it was just as hard to come up with the money as today's prices. The only young people that I have experience with had worked hard, got an education and a skill that pays more than minimum wage and if they couldn't afford a house or sometimes even to rent they went in on a shared occupancy with friends until they could save enough to afford a starter home. If people are unable to pay for todays housing, I guarantee you that housing would cost less. But, they are buying them and from what I've heard without much hesitation.
The real problem is that back in the day independent builders built starter homes, they don't do that anymore and the profit margin on those big, expensive places make it more attractive to build and it leaves out a lot of people.
Here in the states when I bought my first house the minimum wage was under $3.00 per hour but they, maybe still do, have government subsidized housing loans such as Farmers Home Loans, that I had to use back then to help with start up. It didn't last forever and the housing had to be at a certain price range an in a more rural setting, but it got a lot of people started in home ownership that lead to eventual upgrading as careers started to take hold.
I have found that todays youth don't want to do that interim stuff, they want to go from mom and dads to semi-mansions and are unwilling to deal with the hardships that give one the incentive and goals to do better and try harder. There should be a system were one can climb a ladder to the goal not just expect it immediately. It's just that sometimes in order to improve you have to pay your dues and that made it difficult at first but so much more rewarding when one finally makes it to the goal. Now it seems that the prevailing attitude is "if it ain't on the top, I ain't interested". That applies to jobs and housing and willingness to become independent.
This is where I totally disagree with you. This is all I have done for a living for 35 years. Housing affordability has never been worse.
Look at these figures for the past four years alone. And this is to buy a "regular" condo apartment. That means not new, not waterfront, no concierge or rooftop spa and pool ....
"Close to 60% of all
households could afford to own at least a regular condo apartment in 2019 based on their income. That share has plummeted to 45% in 2023. An even tinier 26% could now afford a (relatively more expensive) single-family home."
Nearly one in five Ontarians are spending more than 50% of their income on RENT! "In Ontario, 36% of renters are spending 31 to 50% of their income on housing expenses while 18% are spending over 50%."
When I moved out in 1986, minimum wage was $7.22/hr, and my rent was $165/month.
Now the minimum wage is $17.20, but the average one bedroom apartment rents for $2431/month.
The math ain't mathing.
Like I said, housing affordability in Ontario has never (ever, ever, ever) been worse.
Also, this generation of buyers have never seen interest rates this high. They got used to prime being 2.25%. Now it's almost 7%. And yes, when I started selling new homes in 1989, the mortgage interest rate was 11 3/4%, but I was selling 3315 sq ft on a 60' lot for $265,900. I currently have a 20' middle unit townhouse in Pickering for $1.2 million. I mean it's nice, but 1.2 for a townhouse ... gimme a break.
Most of the youth I know, are starting out in (sometimes legal) basement apartments with a buddy or two. None of them even has aspirations of buying a McMansion anymore; it's just too far out of reach. Most have resigned themselves to being renters for their entire lives. Anecdotally I will add, that a lot of young girls I know are starting their families at 21 and 22. Not oopsies - calculated decisions. There is no huge impetus to establish a career, get married, and buy a house BEFORE having kids now, because it's not an attainable goal; so they're having them early, and by the time they reach 28, 29 the kids are already in school full time, and now they can start the career thing.
tl;dr - life is expensive.
ETA - I have a LISTING for a $1.2 million townhouse. Did not mean to imply that I own it.
....
