Agents weigh in on Kevin O’Leary’s homeownership advice to young people

Where the real estate market is concerned, Mr. Wonderful has been stirring the pot for quite some time, urging young professionals not to rush into home buying.

The Mr. Wonderful moniker is well known to be tongue-in-cheek. It was originally a sarcastic jab that Canadian multimillionaire entrepreneur Kevin O’Leary leaned into after it was flung at him by fellow panelist Barbara Corcoran on the American business reality television series Shark Tank, where O’Leary quickly became the resident villain.

He had a similar reputation before that on Dragons’ Den, the show’s Canadian equivalent. 

Due to his often brutally blunt critiques and strict focus on the bottom line, O’Leary tends to be highly polarizing. He’s drawn scrutiny for some of his public statements. Among these is his advice that young people should avoid entering the real estate market until they marry, start a family and need long-term stability. He recommends that until then, they rent and invest in diversified income-producing assets like stocks and bonds, rather than taking on the weight of high transaction fees, a mortgage and other home-carrying costs.

Arguing that a home is often a “money pit” that funnels funds mostly into the bank’s pocket, he frequently warns that home ownership, at least early on, should be viewed as a liability. The bigger the house, the bigger the financial drain, he maintains.

“In my opinion, most people in their 20s and even 30s have no reason to be taking on that kind of debt,” O’Leary has previously told CNBC.

While most North American finance gurus frame homeownership as the keystone of generational wealth, O’Leary believes that too many people overestimate its benefits.

“You’re not rich if it’s all tied up in real estate,” he recently declared on the Fox Business Network.

O’Leary’s guidelines around protecting equity by not over-leveraging, not having mortgage payments exceed one-third of after-tax income and not reselling before at least five years have passed, largely align with official recommendations.

But his broader commentary, including his view that buying a home is a poor investment for the young, is often criticized as being out of touch.

Industry pushes back

“Home ownership remains one of the most important ways Canadians can build long-term wealth. So delaying a purchase can mean missing out on future equity and wealth creation,” says Don Kottick, president of Remax Canada.

“For real estate professionals, this is where their advisory role becomes critical,” continues Kottick. “There are many different pathways into homeownership, whether that’s a recreational property, co-ownership, a home with rental income potential, or a more affordable market outside the original search area. It’s about helping buyers find the right path that works best for their needs.”

Toronto-based Remax Realtron COO Cameron Forbes notes that a key advantage of home ownership over stocks is that a portion of each mortgage installment goes toward paying down principal, gradually building equity.

“In that sense, a home can serve as a powerful long-term savings vehicle alongside other investments.”

From a tax perspective, Forbes adds, “Canada also offers a significant advantage to homeowners through the principal residence exemption, which generally allows gains on the sale of a primary home to be realized tax-free.”

O’Leary’s comparison of the two assets ignores the forced savings and capital-gains-exempt benefits of housing, experts observe. It’s also been pointed out that renting instead of buying, then routinely “investing the difference” in stocks as O’Leary recommends, often fails in practice.

Not everyone fits neatly into O’Leary’s rubric, Yahoo Finance acknowledged in a report late last year.

“Some people want to buy a house solo. Others don’t want kids at all. Some are divorced, cohabitating, or just prefer homeownership” over renting long-term and battling unpredictable rent hikes, the platform stated.

There are also a growing number of single women entering the market independently.

There’s no one-size-fits-all.

The data on delayed buyers

While stats do show that Canada’s younger generations are waiting longer to buy their first home than ever before, it’s generally not due to lack of desire. Our first-time home buyers are now among the oldest in the world. Although nationally the 2026 Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s “Mortgage Consumer Survey” still places most first-time buyers in the 25 to 34 age range, affordability pressures increasingly appear to be pushing that into the late 30s and beyond.

Figures jump significantly for first-time buyers in Ontario and British Columbia, where the median age has climbed to a seasoned 40 and 46, respectively, according to a widely quoted global housing study late last year by United Arab Emirates-based developer Bloom Holding.

The Ontario data engine/land registry Teranet reports: “What used to be an early career milestone has shifted deeper into mid-career, as prospective buyers need more time to build savings or equity before taking that first step into the market. Even with recent price moderation, this age trend highlights the affordability issues that continue to shape demand, delaying entry but not diminishing aspirations.”

Beyond the balance sheet

These shatterproof aspirations speak to the psychological and less quantifiable aspects of home ownership – autonomy, a sense of community and belonging, a safety net, a hedge against inflation.

“Home ownership is more than just a roof over our heads,” says Kim Fairley, president of the Ontario Real Estate Association. “It continues to hold symbolic and practical importance…It’s the place where we create memories, raise our families, and build our lives. While buying a home is one of the largest financial decisions you can make in your life, it often translates to financial security, becoming a nest egg for middle-class families to pass down and build generational wealth.”

Housing can also be downsized or tapped into via a reverse mortgage later in life to help fund retirement.

There’s certainly also value in investing in the stock market, says Fairley.

“But you can’t live in a stock.”

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