New polling from the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) confirms rising concern among Ontarians about the cost of living and housing affordability – for the first time since OREA began this polling in 2021, over half (51 per cent) ranked housing affordability as their top priority for government focus.
This represents a 16 per cent increase since June 2021, indicating Ontarians are becoming increasingly concerned about housing affordability despite government action, says a news release from the group.
Conducted by Abacus Data on behalf of OREA, the Housing Affordability in Ontario: Perceptions, Impacts, And Solutions (Wave 4) survey found that Ontarians are struggling financially: while the majority of respondents (52 per cent) can cover their expenses every month, they are unable to save money, and 17 per cent are unable to cover normal expenses in the first place without taking on debt or cutting back.
For aspiring homeowners, this figure jumps to 29 per cent, making it even more difficult to save for homeownership, especially with everyday essentials like food, utilities, and rent payments continuing to be top financial stressors.
“For most of Canadian history, it was a given that every generation had a better shot at homeownership than the last. Homeownership fostered vibrant and stable communities and was foundational to a great quality of life” said OREA CEO Tim Hudak. “But today, that dream is slipping from too many young families in Ontario as they are frozen out of the housing market due to a historic lack of housing supply driving up prices. These issues cannot be solved without Governments taking bold action.”
While 80 per cent believe there are steps the Ontario Government could take to improve housing affordability, only 15 per cent approve of the job being done thus far; with 55 per cent believing decisions the provincial government has made over the past three years have made it more difficult to buy a home.
Top factors cited that are most impacting/most important to affordability include the availability/cost of land (47 per cent); increased immigration to Canada, the cost of borrowing for builders, and foreign investors (42 per cent each); and a shortage of skilled trade workers (34 per cent).
“It’s clear that homeownership is top of mind for many Ontarians. Pro-growth, pro-housing solutions must continue to be championed if we want to get more shovels in the ground and bring more supply to market,” said Hudak. “This is the only way Ontario can meet the goal of building 1.5 million new homes in the next decade and improve affordability for our province’s would-be homeowners and families.”
