[URBAN NOTE] "Millennial home buyers willing to pay the price to avoid long commutes"

[rfmcdonald]

The Globe and Mail's Adam Stanley reports on what, exactly, millennial home buyers are willing to compromise on as they search for homes.

A recent survey from TD Canada Trust reveals that millennials are willing to spend more money on a home in order to live closer to work. But that isn’t the only factor for home buyers aged 18 through 34, most of whom are entering the real-estate market for the first time.

Forty-eight per cent of millennial respondents to the TD survey said they would spend more on a home to commute less, as compared to just 34 per cent of Canadians as a whole.

TD conducted the survey of more than 6,000 respondents 18 and older. The report was then broken down into a subgroup of nearly 1,800 millennials.

“While living close to work has many benefits, purchasing a home in an expensive urban city can come at a price,” says Pat Giles, associate vice-president of real-estate secured lending at TD.

Sixty-eight per cent of the survey respondents admit they would be willing to move into a smaller house than they initially desired, while 80 per cent say they would sacrifice amenities or compromise on their top choice of neighbourhood.