A Focus on Multi-Property Owners in Ontario

Multi-property owners remain an important part of the Ontario residential real estate market, but their position has shifted in recent years. This segment represented 22% of transfer volume in 2017 and reached a peak of 25.2% of all transfer volume in 2022 before declining in each subsequent period shown, reaching 20.4% by the end of September 2026.

Over the same period, first-time homebuyers increased to 26.3%, and life-event buyers increased to 24.2%. The reduction in multi-property owner share after 2022 raises a fundamental question that we will look to explore in this report: did this segment’s participation fall only in relative terms, or did the number of purchases by multi-property owners also change? 

As we can see from Figure 2, the decrease experienced by multi-property owners was not limited to market share. Purchases amongst this segment began at 81,045 in 2017, declined in 2018, and then increased through 2020 before reaching their highest volume at just over 100,000 in 2021. Activity fell substantially in 2022 and 2023, recovered modestly in 2024, and declined again in 2025, highlighting the market is operating well below its 2021 volume peak. When we look at Figures 1 and 2 together it is clear that this segment’s pullback was both relative and absolute. Multi-property owners recorded fewer purchases at the same time that first-time homebuyers and life-event buyers were gaining share of the market.  

The decrease in multi-property owner activity occurred alongside a change in what this segment purchased, which is particularly evident in the increased preference for condos since 2017. Purchases of condos increased from 27.9% of multi-property owner transfers in 2017 to 39.7% through September 2026, while the non-condo share declined from 72.1% to 60.3%. Non-condo volume peaked at 71,026 in 2021 and then declined in each following year, reaching 23,921 through September 2026. Condo transfer volumes have also remained below the 2021 peak, with a brief increase in 2024. This provincial shift reflects more than a general decline in activity as non-condo properties lost both volume and market share. In other words, the multi-property owner segment is not simply buying less of the same thing; the mix of what it buys has changed.  

When we look at the new-versus-existing multi-property owner split there is another interesting layer added to the property preference composition. Existing multi-property owners’ share of condos increased from 36% in 2017 to 52% through September 2026, while new multi-property owners trended in the opposite direction. New multi-property owners consistently account for more purchases of non-condo properties with 68% in both 2025 and through September 2026. This divergence suggests the two groups are approaching the market differently: established owners appear to be adding condos to their portfolios, while those purchasing a second property for the first time continue to favour non-condo homes.  

Multi-property owners with two properties have remained the largest group in every year since 2017, although their share declined from 64.7% in 2017 to 60.4% through September 2026. Owners with three properties have consistently been responsible for one-fifth of activity, only moving from 20.2% to 20.6%, and multi-property owners with 4 properties increased from 7.8% to 9.6% from 2017 to September 2026. The market, therefore, continues to be dominated by multi-property owners with smaller portfolios rather than investors with much larger portfolios. The gradual gains among owners with three and four properties point to some modest portfolio growth over time, but the shift has been incremental rather than structural.  

The average age of multi-property purchasers varies across Ontario and increased in every region in September 2026 compared to 2017. The highest increases in average age of multi-property owners can be seen in Muskoka, Toronto, Middlesex, Peel and Waterloo. In 2026, Muskoka recorded the highest average age of 53.4 years which increased from 51 in 2017, while Durham region had the lowest at 46.6 years. Toronto’s average multi-property owner age is 48.9 up from 46.9 in 2017, and the rest of Ontario when grouped together is 49.7 years which increased from 47.9 in 2017. Rising average age in every region is consistent with a segment increasingly anchored by established owners, and it adds context to the new-versus-existing owner patterns shown earlier in this report.  

Purchases with a registered mortgage represented 75.8% of multi-property owner activity in 2017 and 75.6% through September 2026. The share of multi-property purchases with a mortgage had increased to approximately 80% in 2022 before declining in 2023 and the following years. Despite material changes elsewhere in the multi-property owner market, the financing split didn’t change much from 2017 to September 2026. This stability indicates that the decline in multi-property owner activity was not driven by a broad move between financed and unfinanced purchases.  

When we look at the financing preferences of multi-property owners by property type we can see that activity wasn’t quite as stable. Non-condo purchases with a mortgage rose to their highest volume in 2021 and then declined every year following, while non-condo purchases without a mortgage also declined after 2021. Condo purchases were comparatively steadier in both the mortgage and non-mortgage segments. The reduction in non-condo activity is visible with and without a registered mortgage rather than being confined to one financing segment. This mirrors the property-type shift shown in Figure 3, where non-condo properties lost both volume and share among multi-property owners.