CBC News released data from the 2016 census Wednesday showing “…households equal to 13.3 percent live in Canada condos, the ratio of households in condos has increased by 1.2 percentage points from the last census five years ago.”
“Statistics Canada says almost 1.9 million Canadian households were living in condominiums as of 2016. As is to be expected, there is wide variety across the country when it comes to the popularity of condos as a choice of places to live.”
“In Vancouver, for example, more than 30 percent of the population lives in condos, the highest percentage in Canada by far. Condos are home to 21.8 percent of Calgarians, followed by Abbotsford-Mission, Kelowna, and Toronto, all of which have more than one out of every five households living in a condominium.
13.3 Per Cent Live in Canada Condos
According to the most recent information available, about 60 million people in America live in condominiums. If the US population is 300 million, that’s about 20%
What is a condo?
A condo (short for “condominium”) is a private residence owned by an individual or family in a building or community with multiple units. Although condos are usually part of a larger building, “detached condominiums” also exist. What all condos have in common is that they share common areas—such as greenspace, garages, rec rooms, or gyms—with other units that the condo owners don’t have to maintain themselves, making home upkeep that much easier and less time consuming.
The primary attraction of condominiums is the ability to obtain affordable housing in a highly desirable area that typically is beyond economic reach. Additionally, such properties benefit from having restrictions that maintain and enhance value, providing control over blight that plagues some neighborhoods.
There have been some significant changes in attitudes toward condominium ownership, recently.
- New regulations are coming for rental units offered through Airbnb. Owners want to maintain security and want more control of who rents and for how long.
- Dr. Frank Clayton, a noted housing economist at Ryerson University, proclaimed that the government essentially wants to make building suburban single-detached housing illegal in the Greater Toronto Area.
- Environmentalists are in favour of such a ban, as they want to preserve farmland and reduce commuting. Many municipalities struggle to fund the short- and long-term infrastructure costs required to service many of these new communities.
- Despite the opposition, buyers continue to flock to inexpensive new low-rise subdivisions far from employment centres.
- Alberta wants to ban adults-only apartment and condominium buildings in the province but would keep apartments and condos designated as over 55-communities.
- Housing has gotten more expensive. Usually, condos are a cheaper alternative to single-family homes. However, many areas in the big cities in Canada are experiencing price rises since 2008 and now have almost priced the average buyer out of the housing market unless median income takes a big jump.
