Moving up increasingly difficult for families in overheated markets

People in Canada’s most active housing markets will encounter serious difficulties in upgrading their dwellings over the next decade, according to a recent study

Released in early July, the results of a fresh survey by The Huffington Post Canada revealed that families in Canada’s most active housing markets will encounter serious difficulties in upgrading their dwellings over the next decade.
 
Even just starting the climb on what has been described by Simon Fraser University City Program acting director Andy Yan as the “broken” housing mobility ladder in Vancouver and Toronto will prove to be impractical for all but the richest families and individuals, the study found.
 
In Greater Vancouver, moving up from a condo to a townhouse in 2016 would cost a family an extra $147,400. By next year, this figure is projected to rise to $166,767, finally topping off at $341,066.67 in 2026.
 
“In other words, condo owners are likely stuck where they are,” the report on the study stated.
 
Moving from a townhouse to a single-family home in Vancouver is immensely more challenging, however. Currently, a townhome family has to spend an extra $881,400 to upgrade—and in 2026, it could cost as much as a dizzying $2,278,397.
 
In Toronto, the situation is for all intents and purposes worse, at least when it comes to the condo-to-townhouse shift. At present, such a move in the 416 area code would cost $183,785, but a household will have to spend $493,055 to make the same upgrade in 10 years.
 
The 905 area code is in pretty much the same situation. Upgrading from a condo to a townhouse here costs $180,072 as of 2016, and is projected to swell to a monstrous $506,385.33 by 2026.

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