New OREA poll shows Ontarians feel housing affordability in the province is getting worse and the future is not looking better for homeownership without greater government action.

The survey was conducted with 2,000 Ontarian adults between the dates of June 1 and 7, 2021.

Key Findings: Non-Homeowners

• Majority (65%) of non-homeowners want to own residential property. Among young people (18-29 years) 80% want to own a home. 
• For many non-homeowners, homeownership is aspirational and important: 56% say they are someone who really wants to own a home. Young people are even more likely to say that it is important. 
• More than half (56%) of non-homeowners have either given up or are very pessimistic about the possibility of buying a home in the community they want to live in. 
• Among those who want to buy a home, 48% are pessimistic and 22% are at least somewhat optimistic. 
• 42% of non-homeowners who want to buy expect to do so in the next 5 years. 
• A single-detached house (56%) is the housing preference for those who do not own. While this is lower than the current housing type of existing owners, it indicates a strong demand for detached housing. 
• All housing types are viewed by non-homeowners as unaffordable, with townhouses and condos only slightly more affordable than detached or semi-detached homes. 
• Affordability and space are the two more important considerations when making a decision about which property to buy.

Key Findings: Current State of Residential Market

• Ontarians clearly understand that it is more difficult (77%) over the past year to buy a residential property where they live. 
• Young and old both share a similar view of the market. Those living in the Northern part of the province are less pessimistic about the housing market. 
• The expectation is that housing prices will increase (55%) over the next year. Only a small segment (14%) think they will decrease. 
• The one-year expectation that prices will rise is linked to general negativity about the future affordability of housing: more than half of Ontarians say that housing prices will be less affordable over the next five years.

“The affordability crisis continues to crush the dream of homeownership for many Ontarians and this has been intensified by the economic impact of the pandemic,” said OREA CEO Tim Hudak. “Governments need to act if we want to create future generations of homeowners and that starts with pro-growth policies that could bring affordability closer to first-time home buyers and address the supply shortage.”

Source: Report: Housing Affordability in Ontario and OREA Press Release