How 4 millennial co-owners got into Canada’s least affordable housing market

These Canadians are part of a growing trend, most noticeable in the country’s expensive urban centres, of co-ownership to break into increasingly unaffordable housing markets.

From the outside, the three-storey semi-detached duplex west of Toronto’s downtown core doesn’t stand out as being unique. But when you set foot inside its 3,000 square feet, you’re greeted by what are, essentially, two dwellings under one roof.

And if you were to look at the mortgage arrangement for this nearly $2 million house, you would see the names of four millennial co-owners, which isn’t typical.

Michael Carlson, 36, who is a teacher and financial planner, says it’s the home he dreamed of but wasn’t sure he could ever own.

“This house is magical. When you look at the bones, they’re perfect. The yard is incredible. It’s an oasis in the city and we are so close to transit that we really don’t need a car,” he tells Global News in an interview.

Carlson had been championing co-ownership for about a decade before he finally took the plunge in March 2021. He and his partner Heather Nelson, 39, decided to sign on the dotted line with another couple, Craig Ruttan, 33, and his partner Alex Rand, 30, because they were interested in co-owning and cohabitating in one house.

“As soon as COVID hit, I began to feel an immense amount of isolation,” says Nelson.

Two months into the pandemic, she told Carlson it was time to turn their “co-housing dream” into reality.

These Canadians are part of a growing trend, most noticeable in the country’s expensive urban centres, of co-ownership to break into increasingly unaffordable housing markets.