Vancouver's millennials have $2,745 in debt annually – report

Millennial home buyers in Canada’s most overheated housing market are hamstrung by increasingly greater costs, with no relief seemingly in sight

Attempting even the most Spartan lifestyle would be an exercise in futility for millennial home buyers in Vancouver, if the results of a recent study are any indication.
 
Young professionals and starting households who are looking at purchasing an average property in Canada’s most overheated market would be looking at a whopping $2,745 in debt every year, according to the latest report published by the Vancity credit union on their website.
 
This has made the city’s millennials the segment with the lowest discretionary income across the country, the report added.
 
Shelter costs, in particular, are to blame for the predicament.
 
“In 2015, a typical Vancouver millennial household of two, aged 25-34, earned $72,291 —the second lowest rate in Canada. After essential expenses including taxes, clothing, healthcare premiums, food, public transportation and utilities, about $41,609 would be leftover,” the report explained.
 
“Subtract ownership costs of more than $44,354 annually for a property at an average cost in Vancouver, and millennial families are in debt.”
 
The situation is even more dismal for starting families.
 
“An average millennial family that purchased property at the average Vancouver price in 2016 would go into debt by $17,325 per year just to cover basic expenses once childcare costs for one child are introduced,” the report stated.
 
The report put forward recommendations for the relevant authorities to consider, such as incentives for rental housing among young families. The report also encouraged millennial households to purchase homes not for their own use, but for rental income.