Gent rif iers or af f ordable housing consumers? Living alone and owning one s home in the inner city: the case of Montréal, Canada Damaris Rose INRS - Urbanisation, Culture et Société Institut national de la recherche scientifique , Montréal damaris _ rose@inrs - ucs.uquebec.ca Presentation at Adequate and affordable housing for all , ISA Built Environment Committee Conference, Toronto, 24 - 27 June 2004 . Corrected version ( Aug . 2004).
Plan of present at ion Introduction Objectives of paper Context of case study of purchasers of non - luxury new condominiums in Montréal Selected findings re sub - group of one - person households drawn both from postal questionnaire survey and from follow - up qualitative interviews dr, Toronto 2
I nt roduct ion (1 of 3) N. Am, Euro cities c.1970 - : 1- person households [1PH] major societal changes (Hall & Ogden 2003) Since 1990s: prevalence of homeowners hip among this group Imp. subgroup = key part of inner - city new condominium mkt ( infill ; brownfield) envt appeals to single Yuppie lifestyle , is supportive of non-family living arrangements luxury units , pieds -à- terre (mobile elite workers ) affordable hsg for 1st - time buyers ( incl . new economy workers) local state may facilitate / subsidize construction dr, Toronto 3
I nt roduct ion (2 of 3) Paradox in existing literature: sees homeownership by 1 PH, incl . women , as important in the aggregate ; however , lit . on housing careers + meanings of home vis -à- vis life course still neglects those who buy 1st home while living alone moreover , most work on gentrifying consumption landscapes portrays single Yuppie as young, footloose monotype ( rare exc eptions : Wynne & O Connor 1998; Authier et al. 2001) Little known re motivations of 1PH for this form of homeownership , re values they attach to home, neighbourhood dr, Toronto 4
I nt roduct ion (3 of 3) Why this paradox? Living alone still equated with low income, instability, transient phase in life course / housing career this presumes living alone = single , unattached want live - in partner also ignores age differences in economic + personal stability , and in aspirations (critique: Feijten et al. 2003) lack of longitudinal/retrospective data in rare qualitative studies, gentrifiers living alone are mostly 35 (e.g. Bondi 1999) dr, Toronto 5
Obj ect ives of paper Draw on e xploratory case study of people living alone among 1st - time buyers of non - luxury new condos in gentrifying Montréal neighbourhoods Source: broader study (for metho , see Annex 1) : 1) mail survey, Mar. 2001, N=423 (45% response rate) 2) 50 qualitative interviews, Feb. - Apr. 2002 Shed light on group obscured behind stereotypes o by presenting selected findings re: Sample characteristics Motivations for shift renting owning? What qualities of neighbourhood sought out, appreciated significance of centrality ? dr, Toronto 6
Mont réal case st udy some local cont ext Sampled condos small - scale ( physically integrated ) infill + recycled bldgs in pre - 1920 central nhoods in various stages of gentrification M unicipal supply - + demand - side subsidies reduced p urchase /initial carrying costs ; property tax base ( 80% of City revenue) diversify tenure choice for existing + new residents with modest/middle incomes historically, local culture of property = city of tenants ( Choko & Harris 1990) proactive municipal policy (1979 - ) to reverse population loss to suburbs (Germain & Rose 2000) NB also includes facilitating non - profit rental hsg to extent possible given federal + provincial policies dr, Toronto 7
City of Montréal leaflet * promoting property t ax credit on purchase of a newly- built home dr, Toronto 8 * reproduced here by permission
Examples of inf ill condos in st udy: Cent re-sud Gay Village note physical integration into streetscape photos: Damaris Rose, 2003 dr, Toronto 9
Examples of inf ill condos in st udy: Plat eau Mont -Royal / Mile End - built on ex - factory land; area still industrial - units in these buildings bought for $70 - 90,000 in late 1990s foreground : community garden plots photos: Damaris Rose, 2003 dr, Toronto 10
Locat ion of 423 quest ionnaire respondent s and sub-group of 50 part icipant s in semi-st ruct ured int erview superimposed on census tract map of mean incomes of all households , 2001 dr, Toronto 11
Quest ionnaire respondent s by living arrangement s and gender 250 Females (49%) 200 N = 417 100 Males (51%) 150 100 79 112 3 50 48 11 44 20 0 lives alone in couple, in couple, other* opposite same sex sex * living with related or 50% of respondents unrelated people; lone lived alone parent (Only 8% of respondents have children living at home) dr, Toronto 12
Quest ionnaire respondent s living alone, by age and 1 st - time buyer status n 60 50 40 First-time buyer 30 (n=124) Repeat buyer (n=75) 20 10 0 18-34 35-44 45-54 55 + NB: Fluidity of hsg careers vis -à- vis life course, esp . among women 1 st - time buyers (not shown ) older than male counterparts dr, Toronto 13
I ncomes (2000) of respondent s living alone, by 1 st - time buyer status 50% under $30 000 40% $30 000 - $49 999 30% $50 000 - $69 999 20% 10% $70 000 - $99 999 0% First-time Repeat buyer $100 000 + buyer (n=124) (n=75) dr, Toronto 14
Educational and occupational profile of 1 st - time buyer respondents Highly educated almost ½ with bachelor s degree or higher 50% are professionals /managers but sample also includes variety of white - collar , clerical occupations, even service workers Somewhat broader occupational range than stereotypical images of gentrifiers nevertheless , qualitative interviews revealed subjective affiliations to new urban middle class not limited to university - educated professionals dr, Toronto 15
Quest ionnaire respondent s living alone vs t hose living in couples (1) those living alone are significantly older (esp. the women) obviously , have lower household incomes 50% had incomes in $30 - $50,000 range (= 18 - 30,000) shift from renting to homeownership occurs later in life effect of lower household incomes on housing career delays aspiration for / possibility of owning one s home ( Findings consistent with Feitjen et al. (2003) longitudinal study ) dr, Toronto 16
Quest ionnaire respondent s living alone vs t hose living in couples (2) aspects of condo they most appreciate: more likely to report becoming a home - owner more likely to report i ts location more likely to call their neighbourhood by a heritage name (= aesthetic attachment/ distinction strategy?) eat at home less often (esp. men) (= less home - centred?) dr, Toronto 17
Quest ionnaire f indings suggest issues f or qualit at ive* f ollow-up Partial support to popular images of single Yuppie , yet suggests need for nuance + deeper exploration, e.g. range of motivations for and meanings of home - ownership what qualities of location and neighbourhood are valued high number (45%) of over - 45s among 1 st - time buyers living alone , so need better understanding of this group * seeks to uncover range of different perspectives, factors , types among sampled group no numerical weighting dr, Toronto 18
Qualit at ive int erviews wit h 1 st -t ime buyers: sample charact erist ics Persons living alone: 33 (out of 50) Gender 18 women 15 men NB: Irrespective of age, living alone Age necessarily single : from interviews, it 18 - 34 : 7 emerged that some 35 - 44 : 14 were unat t ached , others have stable 45 - 54 : 9 non - live - in 55+ : 3 relationships dr, Toronto 19
Homeownership : motivations, perceived use, exchange , symbolic values according to existing ( esp . Anglo - American ) literature stability material, ontological control of immediate surroundings secured access to valued attributes of a particular [type of] neighbourhood financial security / investment vis -à- vis housing career social status self - image Critique/ caveat : these are not universals all are context - dependent n eed for contextual - ization vis -à- vis local socio - cultural context and available housing alternatives dr, Toronto 20
I nt erviews: What led you t o make t he leap int o home-ownership? (1) Push factors : rents, rental scarcity belief that one should invest for oneself gains ground concern to secure access to valued qualities of central city Evolving culture s of property Younger buyers: see ownership as the norm - get onto housing career ladder (no longer associated with fixed life course expectations) versus Older buyers: I was sure I d be a renter all my life : then discovery of affordable condo option shift in aspirations dr, Toronto 21
I nt erviews: What led you t o make t he leap int o home-ownership? (2) Establish personal autonomy, find an anchor - point . One of the most telling comments : A separation. I could have rented but for me, it was really Listen. I don t know if it was a rational choice? I d say it was really a way to ensure that I d have my independence. That I d have peace. And it was mine. In a context of separation ( ) To get back on my feet and make a clean break. ( Julianna , no. 479, age 25 - 34) dr, Toronto 22
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