This story is part two of a series examining the difficulties young people in Kitchener-Waterloo face buying their first home. Read part one: Housing market delaying major life milestones for some young Ontarians.

In hopes of saving every penny, some young Ontarians say they're delaying major life milestones such as marriage or having children in order to afford a down payment on their first home.

“I've got clients right now, they're married and they want to start their family but they can’t do that where they're renting,” Megan Bell, president of the Kitchener-Waterloo Association of Realtors (KWAR) said.

“They've shifted from what they're looking for in a house, now down to a condo,” she added.

Often priced out of detached and semi-detached houses, more first-time home buyers in Waterloo Region are leaning toward multi-bedroom condos. But they're looking for ones with enough room to grow a family while they grow their equity too.

“It's been very competitive,” Bell added, referring to the market for multi-bedroom condominiums.

According to KWAR, the average sale price of a condo in January 2021 was $378,551 down 1.3 per cent from 2020.

By January 2022, condo prices jumped 41.5% to $535,783.

“They've taken off," Bell said. "Especially if they have the two parking spaces.”

In January 2022, the provincial government announced funds and said it would begin planning to help municipalities build more homes faster, as lack of supply drives up prices.

According to a recent study by Scotiabank, It's estimated 1.2 million more homes are needed to meet demand.

Some experts argue it’s important for that plan to be specific in language and that different types of homes are important too.

According to Dawn Parker, a housing economist and professor at the University of Waterloo, “There is a scarcity of three-bedroom or family sized units,” which are important for younger households right now.

“There are a lot of new builds that respond to this need, but they're not coming in fast enough,” Parker added.

Parker also said developers need easier financing when building the missing middle homes, which can include mixed-use developments.

Funding and planning are not the only factors that will help get homes built faster. A worker shortage and the current supply chain issues are also being blamed.

Some experts worry if the housing crisis doesn't see a correction soon, it could cause a ripple effect.

“One of the important ways to save is to buy a home and then you sort of have some forced savings for when you retire,” economics professor Jason Dean said.

“So this situation especially for millennials, is going to make that even more severe,” he added, referencing the fact that millennials tend to be much older when they purchase their home in comparison to their boomer parents.

Bell is hoping municipalities can work together with developers to include more family sized units, adding that keeping condo fees down is also a key factor to making sure the units are affordable.

“Just so we can get them into the market and they can move onto that next phase of their life of having a baby or getting married,” Bell added.

Kitchener Resident Rory Sitar, who just squeezed into the market thanks to financial assistance from family says it felt impossible as a millennial, to save enough without help.

“I find it difficult to watch inaction,” he said, hoping all levels of government can work together to make change.

“We knew this housing market was an issue when my parents were trying to purchase their home in Kitchener. That was five years ago, when things were starting to get a little out of control,” Sitar said.

He wants to see action, knowing many people his age are delaying major life milestones like marriage and pregnancy in order to save every penny for a down payment.

“To give younger people especially, a chance at the same opportunity that our parents had, or our grandparents had,” Sitar said.