For decades, owning a home was the ultimate financial milestone. The white picket fence wasn’t just a symbol of stability; it was shorthand for success. But in 2025, that narrative is breaking down.
According to Statistics Canada, housing now makes up 89% of the total wealth among Canadians under 35, compared to just 55% for all households. Concentrating in a single, illiquid asset is risky and increasingly inefficient. Especially in a world where real estate values have flattened or declined in many markets, leaving young Canadians financially stuck, not free.
What Today’s Investors Need to Understand
Real estate still matters. But wealth today isn’t just built through ownership, it’s built through access, structure, and strategic allocation.
At Lankin Investments, we help the next generation move beyond the picket fence mindset and into a smarter, more flexible investment framework.
1. Homeownership ≠ Financial Freedom
When nearly 90% of your net worth is tied up in a single property, your portfolio isn’t diversified; it’s exposed. You’re vulnerable to:
Interest rate hikes
Local market declines
Unexpected costs (maintenance, taxes, insurance)
Illiquidity when you need access to capital
And perhaps most importantly: you’re missing out on the growth, income, and compounding offered by broader investment vehicles.
2. Real Estate Without the Burden
Private real estate investing enables individuals to participate in institutional-quality assets, such as stabilized multi-residential buildings, industrial developments, or income-generating portfolios, without the hands-on demands of ownership.
It’s real estate as an investment, not an identity.
3. Wealth That Grows With You
Older generations have seen more consistent net worth growth because they hold diversified assets: stocks, bonds, real estate, and private market strategies. Younger households, by contrast, have stayed overexposed to real estate, and now their financial momentum is slowing.
The solution? Diversify early. Diversify strategically.
What’s Next for Young Wealth Builders?
It’s time to evolve the conversation, from “How do I buy a home?” to “How do I build financial resilience, flexibility, and freedom?” We believe private real estate can be part of that answer, not through ownership, but through intentional investing.
The Lankin Perspective
At Lankin Investments, we believe wealth isn’t built by following outdated paths; it’s built by making intentional, informed choices. For the next generation of investors, that means moving beyond the traditional homeownership mindset and toward real estate strategies that offer flexibility, income, and long-term growth.
Curious how to start building real estate wealth without tying it all to a mortgage? Let’s talk about a smarter, more diversified approach: https://hubs.ly/Q03j7VLV0
Source: Statistics Canada. (2024, March 27). Housing, wealth and debt: How are young Canadians adapting to current financial and housing pressures? https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/36-28-0001/2024003/article/00004-eng.htm