Millennials’ debt-to-income ratio more than 200%

Many millennials are struggling to buy a home, according to a recent poll commissioned by KPMG in Canada. 

The KPMG Millennials and Retirement poll found that although 72% of millennials aspire to own a home, almost half (46%) say ownership is a “pipedream.” 

Additionally, 46% of millennials who do own a home say they received financial assistance from their parents. Even so, this younger generation takes an average of 13 years to save for a 20% down payment, while a Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp. report said their parents took only five years as of 1976. 

“The combination of rising home prices, high levels of personal debt and annual incomes that are just a fraction of the cost of buying a home compared with their parents’ generation, is pushing the dream of home ownership out of reach for many millennials,” said Martin Joyce, partner, national leader, human and social services, at KPMG, in a release. 

The poll indicated that millennials tend to have decent incomes, but that they’re not necessarily better off. As “the most educated generation,” they have amassed high levels of student debt, making home ownership even more unaffordable. 

Debt-to-income ratio for young millennials stands at 216%, far surpassing the 125% for Gen-Xers and 80% for baby boomers at the same age, primarily because of mortgage debt, the release said. Further, Statistics Canada data shows that millennials “have taken on larger mortgages relative to their incomes than those who came before them,” it added. 

The KPMG Millennials and Retirement poll surveyed 2,500 Canadians, including 1,000 millennials between the ages of 23 and 38.

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.