GTA home buyers prefer walkable neighbourhoods, study says
Increasingly, buyers say they’d choose a walkable, transit-oriented location over a larger home, if cost weren’t an issue, says a study for the Pembina Institute and RBC.

TheStar.com
Sept. 24, 2014
Tess Kalinowski

The dream of home ownership in the Toronto region is evolving, with more home buyers prioritizing a walkable neighbourhood over floor space.

An Environics survey for RBC and the Pembina Institute confirms that most people prefer it when even suburban neighbourhoods function like cities, with easy access to transit, shops and services.

The 2014 Home Location Preference Survey, being published Wednesday, confirms that the vast majority of home buyers — 81 per cent — would choose less car-dependent neighbourhoods over big lawns and extra bedrooms — if cost were not a factor.

Seniors and adults aged 18 to 35 were most likely to prefer more walkable, transit-oriented locations. Those respondents said they would pay more to live in that kind of neighbourhood even if it meant downsizing their home.

Also, larger families with three or more children showed a growing interest in more walkable neighbourhoods. Some 51 per cent of those respondents said they would prefer a walk-friendly suburb, up from 40 per cent in 2012.

82% of respondents live where they do because that is the neighbourhood where they can afford a home.

Two years ago, most large families said they wanted a big house and yard regardless of cost, said Pembina’s Ontario director, Cherise Burda. Now, they’re more willing to give up some space to be closer to conveniences.

That change, she said, shows “people are frustrated with having to take such long commutes, and the trade-offs (in terms of smaller homes) may be worth that,” she said.

“We know the millennials are rejecting the car-dependent suburbs of their parents and they want to be where the action is, they want to walk,” said Burda.

Businesses that had migrated to the cheaper suburbs are now moving back into transit-friendly areas to attract young workers.

Toronto is also trying to encourage more compact development along avenues such as Eglinton.

The big question is whether those 18- to 25-year-olds will stay in their condos once they have children, she said.

“It’s going to depend on how development plays out. People are going to buy what’s available, what’s affordable,” said Burda.

Affordability is a growing factor in home-buying decisions, according to the survey, which found 82 per cent of respondents said they live in the neighbourhood where they do because that’s what they can afford. A growing number of respondents — 45 per cent — said affordability affected their choice “a lot.” That’s up slightly from 41 per cent two years ago.

Toronto home prices were expected to rise 2.7 per cent this year, after increasing by 5.4 per cent last year, according to a TD Economics report in April.

Sixty per cent of respondents, who were told they could save $200,000 over the course of a 25-year mortgage by giving up one car, said they would choose to live within easy access of transit even if meant owning a smaller home.

The $200,000 is a minimum savings from a compact car.

39% of respondents would choose a condo, townhouse or modest house on a smaller lot in the city where it is possible to commute to work in less than 30 minutes.

“Imagine applying that to your mortgage. You would be in a totally different price point, and you wouldn’t have to choose a $450,000 home in Milton where you would have to drive for two hours every day. You could actually choose a stacked townhouse in Etobicoke or somewhere along Eglinton,” she said.

It’s not about giving up all the family cars; it’s about giving up one car.

“We’re seeing that play out in how progressive developers are designing our suburbs,” said Burda, who cited the Mount Pleasant development in Brampton, with mixed-use buildings clustered around a GO station.

“It might not be Roncesvalles,” said Burda. “But people are able to give up one car.”

The online survey of 1,014 Toronto area residents was conducted by Environics Research Group between May 20 and 27.