The Royal LePage Rent vs. Buy Report includes insights from economist and housing market analyst Will Dunning’s recent study on the financial benefits of home ownership versus renting. 

The study uses price data for 278 scenarios (broken out by city and housing type) across the country and aims to answer the commonly-asked question ‘Is it better to buy or rent?’. The study, which assumes the buyer is able to secure a 20% down payment, found that it is more financially beneficial to buy a home in Canada than to rent an equivalent dwelling over the long term, in 91% of cases.

According to a Mortgage Professionals Canada report, close to half of first-time homebuyers that purchased a property in 2018 or later in Canada, had a down payment of 20% or more. The average down payment for first-time homebuyers in Canada is 21%.

Key findings from the release include:

• For those able to secure a sufficient down payment, it is more financially beneficial to buy a home in Canada than to rent over the long term, in 91% of cases analyzed;
  
  
• As of Q2 2021, on average the net home ownership cost was $769 per month less than the cost of renting an equivalent dwelling;
  
  
• Even with a 10% decline in home prices over a ten year period, approximately half of homeowners studied would still see a positive rate of return on investment, while the other half would break even or see a modest loss.

Read the full press release here.