Latest news with #PhilSoper
CTV News
27-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Retiring with or without a mortgage: Affordability a challenge for Canadians of all ages
While many may consider retirement a sign of freedom, some say today's reality tells a different story, Noovo Info reports. According to a recent Royal LePage survey, conducted by Léger, three out of 10 Canadians who plan to retire in 2025 or 2026 say they will continue to pay their mortgages once they retire. Ten years ago, half of senior households had mortgage debt, according to Statistics Canada data highlighted by Royal LePage. In 2016, 14 per cent of income households with occupants 65 and older had a mortgage, a significant increase from eight per cent in 1999. 'The benefits of entering retirement as a homeowner who has paid off their mortgage are clear: more disposable income, protection from interest rate fluctuations, and even the emotional security of knowing you'll always have a place to live,' said Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage. He explains that real estate price appreciation over the last 25 years has been 'a double-edged sword' for today's retirees. 'On one hand, it has led to unprecedented financial gains. On the other hand, this generation is much more likely to have mortgage balances that would have been unimaginable compared to their parents or grandparents,' he said. 'Our research confirms that they are also much more likely to have to provide financial assistance to their children to help them buy their own homes.' Soper says he also believes that while previous generations saw mortgage-free retirement as the only option, today's retirees are much more open-minded. 'While traditional employment income may have dried up, many are still able to comfortably manage their expenses and pay off their mortgages, thanks to income from investments, part-time work or a working spouse,' he said. The data also show that Canadians are becoming homeowners at a later age, increasing the likelihood that future generations of retirees will continue to hold their mortgages. A Royal LePage report published in 2023 showed that 24 per cent of first-time homebuyers were under the age of 30, while 33 per cent were between 30 and 34, and 43 per cent were 35 and up. By comparison, the same survey in 2021 shows 33 per cent of respondents were aged 35 or over, 'which clearly shows that first-time home buyers are buying later in life,' notes Royal LePage. Statistics Canada data also show that the average retirement age in the country has gradually increased It was 65.3 in 2024, compared to 64.3 in 2020. 'Compared to their grandparents, today's retirees are working longer, staying active and, in many ways, continuing the life they led during their working years, but without the work,' said Soper. 'Their attitude to home ownership has changed over time. As people buy their first home later and work longer, it is increasingly common for Canadians to hold onto a mortgage until retirement, often by choice rather than necessity.' Stay or go? According to responses to a recent Royal LePage survey, Canadians are also sharply divided on whether they want to move to smaller houses in retirement or stay put. In Quebec and Ontario, the majority of respondents indicated that they preferred to remain in their current homes upon retirement. Conversely, in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, the majority of respondents said that they want to move to a smaller space when they retire. In Alberta, respondents were equally divided between the two options. 'Reducing the size of your home in retirement is far from a certainty,' said Soper. 'For many homeowners, the decision to stay where they are or move to a smaller property is influenced by a combination of economic realities, lifestyle needs and personal attachments.' Some retirees say they see a smaller home as a practical and liberating choice with less upkeep, more cash to travel or support their children's home ownership journeys; others say they see no reason, either financial or practical, to part with their home. The online survey of 1,626 Canadians aged 18 and up was conducted between May 2 and May 4, 2025, using Leger's online panel. The online panel has approximately 400,000 members nationwide and a 90 per cent retention rate. A probability sample of the same size would give a margin of error of +/- 2.4 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
Toronto Sun
27-05-2025
- Business
- Toronto Sun
Almost one-third of Canadian retirees will be paying a mortgage: Report
Paying a mortgage will be a cost that three out of every 10 retirees will have to manage in 2025 or 2026, according to a Royal LePage report. Photo by iStock / GETTY IMAGES Paying a mortgage will be a cost that three out of every 10 retirees must manage in 2025 or 2026, according to a Royal LePage report. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The real estate company said Tuesday that 29% of those planning to retire this year or in 2026 will still be paying a mortgage when they stop work. 'The benefits of entering retirement as a homeowner with a paid-off mortgage are clear: More disposable income, insulation from interest rate changes, and even the emotional security that comes from knowing you'll always have a place to live,' said Royal LePage CEO and President Phil Soper. He insisted that while discharging a mortgage was once 'the economic finish line,' many seniors have now figured out how to keep up payments while covering their other bills. 'While previous generations may have viewed mortgage-free retirement as the only option, today's retirees tend to be more open-minded,' Soper added. 'Traditional employment income may have dried up, but many are still comfortably managing their expenses and servicing mortgage payments, with income from investments, part-time work, or a working spouse.' The report also says 46% of Canadians approaching retirement say they plan to downsize their home and 59% of Royal LePage real estate agents in Ontario say condominiums are the most popular property for retirees looking to live in smaller places. Royal LePage experts in Ontario say that single-level layouts (38%), community amenities and services (28%), and proximity to family and friends (24%) are most important to downsizers. Recommended video Columnists Sunshine Girls Sunshine Girls Relationships Columnists
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Posthaste: Burning your mortgage is going the way of rotary phones and station wagons
The days of burning your mortgage as a rite of passage into your golden years appear to be slipping into the past along with rotary phones and station wagons. A new survey by real estate company Royal LePage suggests that millennials and gen Z are not the only generations struggling with housing affordability in Canada — seniors are carrying the burden well into retirement. Almost a third of Canadians who are planning to retire in the next two years will continue to make mortgage payments on their primary residence into retirement, the survey said. That's twice as many seniors carrying mortgage debt as a decade ago, and in 1999 the share was just eight per cent. Home prices in Canada soared to $827,100 in 2023 from $120,200 in 1990, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association, and these gains have been a 'double-edged sword' for older Canadians, Royal LePage chief executive Phil Soper said. 'On one hand, it has delivered unprecedented financial gains. On the other, this generation is far more likely to have carried mortgage balances that would have been unimaginable to their parents or grandparents,' he said. It's a trend that will likely continue as first-time homebuyers increasingly enter the housing market later in life. A Royal LePage study in 2023 said 43 per cent of first-time homebuyers were aged 35 and older, up from 33 per cent just two years earlier. In the pricey Ontario real estate market, the median age of a first-time homebuyer hit 40 in 2024, up from 36 a decade earlier, which Teranet said is 'a testament to the likely effects of the affordability challenges in the Ontario housing market.' Yet Royal LePage also said that a surprising number of older Canadians are not willing to downsize in retirement — nearly half, 47 per cent. Seniors in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, according to Royal LePage brokers, are more inclined to downsize, while more retirees in Quebec and Ontario opt to stay in their own homes. 'The benefits of entering retirement as a homeowner with a paid-off mortgage are clear: more disposable income, insulation from interest rate changes, and even the emotional security that comes from knowing you'll always have a place to live,' Soper said. 'In the era of rotary phones and station wagons, burning your mortgage was the economic finish line. Today's retiree reality is much more nuanced.' to get Posthaste delivered straight to your manufacturing isn't the American dream. President Donald Trump has made it clear he wants to bring factory jobs back to the United States, but this chart from TD Economics suggests the American people might be a bit more ambivalent. Most agree that there should be more people working in domestic manufacturing, but far fewer think it should be them. Trump might have a harder time than he thought convincing Americans that they need to pay higher prices to win back factory jobs. Today's Data: United States durable goods orders, Conference Board consumer confidence, S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller home price index Earnings: Bank of Nova Scotia, Autozone Inc. How Trump's 'big beautiful bill' could become a big headache for corporate Canada and investors Many investors remain unaware of the scale of the unfolding bond crisis What you need to know about Canadian Tire, the retail giant that bought Hudson's Bay brands Canadian household wealth surged to a new collective high of $17.49 trillion at the end of 2024, and on average Canadians saw their net worth climb 5.77 per cent to reach $1,026,205, fuelled by strong financial asset gains. The Financial Post's Serah Louis breaks down the state of household wealth in Canada — and looks at the uncertainty that lies ahead. Are you worried about having enough for retirement? Do you need to adjust your portfolio? Are you starting out or making a change and wondering how to build wealth? Are you trying to make ends meet? Drop us a line at wealth@ with your contact info and the gist of your problem and we'll find some experts to help you out while writing a Family Finance story about it (we'll keep your name out of it, of course). Want to learn more about mortgages? Mortgage strategist Robert McLister's Financial Post column can help navigate the complex sector, from the latest trends to financing opportunities you won't want to miss. Plus check his mortgage rate page for Canada's lowest national mortgage rates, updated daily. Visit the Financial Post's YouTube channel for interviews with Canada's leading experts in business, economics, housing, the energy sector and more. Today's Posthaste was written by Pamela Heaven with additional reporting from Financial Post staff, The Canadian Press and Bloomberg. Have a story idea, pitch, embargoed report, or a suggestion for this newsletter? Email us at posthaste@ 'The fear is real,' says TD, predicting 100,000 jobs will be lost in looming recession Canada home prices are heading into correction territory
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
More Canadians plan to carry mortgage debt into retirement: Royal LePage
More people are planning to enter retirement while still paying off a mortgage, a new report from Royal LePage says, with affordability and an evolution in when and how people retire among the factors. A survey conducted for the real estate company found that 29 per cent of the Canadians planning to retire this year or in 2026 will carry mortgage debt into their retirement. Separate data from Statistics Canada show that in 2016, only 14 per cent of senior families had mortgage debt; in 1999 that proportion was just eight per cent. 'In the era of rotary phones and station wagons, burning your mortgage was the economic finish line,' Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage said in a statement. 'Today's retiree reality is much more nuanced.' A factor in Canada's housing crisis is the concentration of single-family homes within the Baby Boomer cohort, Soper told Yahoo Finance Canada in an interview. 'We knew that eventually the tide would turn,' he said. 'People would just reach the age where they'd start to exit those family homes.' But, he added, the report shows that Boomers' exodus from property ownership 'has been much delayed compared to previous generations.' Boomers are subject to the same affordability challenges that define the current housing market in Canada, the report says, which have left many with significant mortgages. The report also notes several demographic trends — some related to affordability — that are likely also factors. This generation of retirees is entering retirement sort of kicking and screaming, saying, 'I won't go quietly into the night.'Phil Soper, president and CEO, Royal LePage The age of first-time home buyers has been creeping up, the report says, 'increasing the odds of future generations of retirees carrying a mortgage further into retirement.' In a 2023 report from Royal LePage looking at first-time homebuyers, it found 43 per cent were 35 years old or older — up from 33 per cent in 2021. The average retirement age has also risen fairly steadily: the age was 61.6 in 2000, according to Statistics Canada data, and 65.3 in 2024. Canadians today are also living 'about 50 per cent more years after turning 65' compared to their grandparents, the report says. 'People are working longer,' Soper said. 'People are staying active longer. The whole Zoomer thing didn't exist for Boomers' parents. They were just expected to retire and spend time with grandkids. … There's obviously exceptions but generally this generation of retirees is entering retirement sort of kicking and screaming, saying, 'I won't go quietly into the night.' "It's no surprise their attitudes toward home ownership have evolved with the times. With people buying their first homes later and working longer, it's increasingly common for Canadians to carry a mortgage well into retirement, often by choice rather than necessity.' In a survey of brokers and sales agents across Canada about the attitudes of people in the retirement window, Royal LePage found that 44 per cent saw an even split between people who planned to stay in their home and people who planned to downsize. 28 per cent said a majority were choosing to downsize and 21 per cent said a majority were choosing to stay put. Those preferences vary in different regions, and Soper said one factor was likely the particularly steep rise in home prices in greater Toronto and greater Vancouver. 'The amount of capital gains you could surface in our two largest cities really dwarfs what you see in other parts of the country,' he said. 'So I think we will see different trends in the GTA and the lower mainland of B.C. than for example what we might see in Halifax or Calgary.' Smaller Canadian cities may not have as many huge houses and may also have condo options that aren't as compact as many of those available in Toronto or Vancouver, Soper said, making a downsize move less 'dramatic' for someone retiring. Furthermore, someone in Montreal or Toronto contemplating a move into a larger condo may be deterred by the costs, Soper said. 'The price that is demanded for large condos in the city can be so high that once you include condominium fees, if you do the math over 10 or 20 years you're not saving any money by moving to a larger condo in our bigger cities.' John MacFarlane is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on Twitter @jmacf. Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android.
Toronto Sun
27-05-2025
- Business
- Toronto Sun
Almost one-third of Canadian retirees will be paying a mortage: Report
Paying a mortgage will be a cost that three out of every 10 retirees will have to manage in 2025 or 2026, according to a Royal LePage report. Photo by iStock / GETTY IMAGES Paying a mortgage will be a cost that three out of every 10 retirees must manage in 2025 or 2026, according to a Royal LePage report. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The real estate company said Tuesday that 29% of those planning to retire this year or in 2026 will still be paying a mortgage when they stop work. 'The benefits of entering retirement as a homeowner with a paid-off mortgage are clear: More disposable income, insulation from interest rate changes, and even the emotional security that comes from knowing you'll always have a place to live,' said Royal LePage CEO and President Phil Soper. He insisted that while discharging a mortgage was once 'the economic finish line,' many seniors have now figured out how to keep up payments while covering their other bills. 'While previous generations may have viewed mortgage-free retirement as the only option, today's retirees tend to be more open-minded,' Soper added. 'Traditional employment income may have dried up, but many are still comfortably managing their expenses and servicing mortgage payments, with income from investments, part-time work, or a working spouse.' The report also says 46% of Canadians approaching retirement say they plan to downsize their home and 59% of Royal LePage real estate agents in Ontario say condominiums are the most popular property for retirees looking to live in smaller places. Royal LePage experts in Ontario say that single-level layouts (38%), community amenities and services (28%), and proximity to family and friends (24%) are most important to downsizers. Recommended video Relationships Columnists Columnists Football Columnists
