Move over millennials – you may have some competition. If you think purchasing a home is challenging now – just wait – because the market is about to become a tad more crowded.

According to a recent survey done by Royal LePage, over 1.4 million Canadians, between the ages of 54 and 72, are expected to buy a home within the next five years. As if the market wasn’t crowded enough, 50 per cent are opting to stay put in their current homes and renovate – which means less supply for impending home buyers. Alternatively, as young adults are moving out of their homes, many Boomers are choosing to move to smaller spaces such as condominiums – which means, extra competition for the more affordable housing type.

Currently across Canada over 77 per cent of Baby Boomers own a home, while nearly 20 per cent rent. When looking at home types, 61 per cent of Boomers live in a detached home, and 21 per cent live in condominiums. Of those Boomers that are planning to buy a home within the next five years, the survey stated 45 per cent are looking to purchase a detached home and 32 per cent are more inclined to buy a condominium.

However, while the Boomers plan to enter the market soon, the last place they plan on moving to, are any major metropolitan city centres; as the cost of living in these areas are becoming overwhelming. “Our research does indicate that smaller cities and recreational areas will attract more investment than major cities,” Phil Soper, President, and CEO of Royal LePage stated. “This large segment of the population views our big cities as generally unaffordable for retirement purposes.”

Boomers aren’t the only generation to view big cities as unaffordable. Currently, over a third of Millennials, aged 20-34, are living with their parents because of the exorbitant market.  Alternatively, those who are living on their own are beginning to move outward from the city core to surrounding areas where prices are more wallet-friendly.

Additionally, the housing market in Toronto is only going to become tighter. The Canadian Government is planning to welcome over 100,000 migrants each year, which means an additional competition in metropolitan areas, where many migrants tend to gravitate towards. This scarcity of supply in our current market climate, paired with amplified demand will only drive up home prices in the city. The city can address this issue by allowing developers to build additional housing types in order to sustain the incoming demand.