A new survey reveals that a significant majority of Canadian couples are prioritizing homeownership over lavish weddings. According to a Royal LePage report, 82 percent of Canadians would either skip their wedding entirely or significantly reduce their wedding spending to save for a down payment on a home.
Wedding Gifts for Down Payments
The survey, conducted by Burson using the Leger Opinion online panel, also found that 79 percent of respondents planning a wedding or knowing someone who is would consider asking for monetary contributions toward a down payment instead of traditional wedding gifts.
Regional Differences
British Columbia, home to Canada's highest housing prices largely due to the Greater Vancouver area, had the highest percentage of respondents (86 percent) who would request financial help for a down payment in lieu of gifts. In contrast, residents in Saskatchewan and Manitoba (65 percent) and Quebec (69 percent) were the least likely to do so.
B.C. also led in the number of people (54 percent) who would skip or scale back a wedding, and 66 percent of already married couples in the province wished they had done so to prioritize homeownership.
Expert Insights
Adil Dinani, a sales representative for Royal LePage West Real Estate Services in Vancouver, noted a growing trend among couples to take a long-term financial view. "Weddings remain an important milestone, but many couples are becoming more intentional about how they allocate their money and are prioritizing home ownership over a large celebration," Dinani said in a statement.
He added, "For some, that means delaying a wedding altogether or opting for a smaller ceremony so they can direct more of their savings toward entering the housing market, especially with the rising cost of housing."
Generational Shift
Nearly half of respondents (41 percent) agreed that younger generations view owning a home as a greater milestone than a wedding. Dinani observed that many first-time buyers are couples who have been renting together before purchasing, rather than one partner already owning a home. "Today's buyers are being more thoughtful about how they spend and save, especially as the overall cost of living remains high," he said.
The survey polled 1,717 adults in Canada between March 27 and April 15 and carries a probable margin of error of plus or minus two percent, 19 times out of 20.
