Some Canadians exploring ‘non-traditional’ ways to own a home. What are they?

Nearly a third of Canadians are considering buying a home with others, renting out a secondary unit and other “non-traditional” paths to ownership amid ongoing affordability barriers in the housing market, a new poll released Tuesday suggests.

Re/Max Canada published the results of a poll conducted by Leger in late 2023 that surveyed Canadians on their appetites to buy a home if it meant forgoing single ownership or buying with a spouse or partner.

According to the findings published Tuesday, some 32 per cent of respondents said they are exploring so-called “non-traditional” ways of entering the ownership market due to the affordability crisis. That compares to 13 per cent of current homeowners surveyed who said they used alternative methods to buy a home.

For those considering a non-traditional purchase, the most popular paths were listed as rent-to-own models (22 per cent) and co-owning with a family member who’s not a spouse (21 per cent). Also included in that category was owning a home with plans to rent out a portion of the property (17 per cent).

Re/Max Canada president Chris Alexander told Global News in an interview that the interest in alternative paths to homeownership reflect a continued belief in the value of real estate, despite well-documented affordability challenges over the past few years.

Some 73 per cent of respondents said they still believed home ownership was the “best investment they can make” – on par with a similar study a year earlier. Alexander noted that comes despite a housing correction tied to higher interest rates that saw values drop in most Canadian markets over that year.

“Despite all of the challenges — interest rates, the economy, negative headlines, all of that — there’s still a desire to