Study: Barrie last in mortgage-free homeowners

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A recent study ranks Barrie last among large Canadian cities regarding homeowners who have paid off their mortgage.

31.8 per cent of Barrie homeowners are mortgage-free, according to online gambling experts at Casivoo, who analyzed Statistics Canada data on private households in more than 30 Canadian cities and their status. The analyzed data included owners with a mortgage, owners without a mortgage, renters, and subsidized housing.

Specifically, the study recorded 57,315 households in Barrie, with 18,260 being mortgage-free and 39,060 still with a mortgage.

"It's interesting to see that a number of areas within Ontario dominate the top ten rankings," said a Casivoo spokesperson in a media release. "The locations in the lead ranking are perhaps more attractive to older homeowners who are more likely to have paid off their mortgage, hence why we are seeing the higher rates."

The study's top ten cities by percentage of mortgage-free homeowners were ranked as follows:

1. Thunder Bay, ON, 47%

2. Peterborough, ON, 45.2%

3. St. Catharines - Niagara, ON 43.5%

4. Victoria, BC, 43.2%

5. Windsor, ON, 42.8%

6. Belleville - Quinte West, ON, 42.3%

T7. Kingston, ON, 42%

T7. Nanaimo, BC, 42%

8. Kelowna, BC, 41.3%

9. Greater Sudbury, ON, 41.1%

10. Trois-Rivières, QC 40.9%

Toronto ranked 18th at 38.3 per cent.