Wedding or home? The decision facing many young Canadians

Wedding or home? The decision facing many young Canadians

Young Canadians are facing difficult financial decisions with the cost of living increasing and the cost of becoming a first-time homebuyers unaffordable for many.

That means that the high cost of a wedding – average $46,000 – may be the difference between homeownership as singles or married life as renters.

An analysis from RateSupermarket.ca found that an overwhelming 84% of respondents would rather spend their wedding fund on another major purchase with a home taking the joint top spot.

40% of respondents said they would rather spend their wedding fund on a down payment for a home; the same share would spend it on travel, 20% wished they’d invested it.

Janine White, Vice-President of Marketplaces and Strategy Development at RateSupermarket.ca says that spending thousands of dollars on an event doesn’t make the same sense to some Canadians today – at least for now.

“Shifts in real estate prices and rising interest rates are possibly pressuring more couples to get into the market sooner rather than later and deferring wedding plans,” she said. “Of course, financial goals will differ depending on the couple, but we are definitely starting to see a change in the environment, whereas in the past, a wedding was traditionally the key priority for most couples – then maybe followed by buying a home, starting a family, and retirement.”

The economics of buying a home vs. having a lavish wedding do look sensible.

For those that qualify for a mortgage with a 5% down payment, they could buy the average-priced Canadian home ($472,000) with $23,600 down.; less than half the average cost of a wedding according to the study.