That reading aligns with independent institutional data. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. projects the economy to grow just 0.7% in 2026, one of the weakest years in recent decades outside a recession. The agency attributes softening prices to a large resale inventory, persistent affordability challenges and weak sales, and warns that a mild recession cannot be ruled out if business investment falters.<\/p>\n
Sentiment sours as prices stay elevated<\/p>\n
Negative views of the market were widespread. Almost nine in 10 respondents (88%) agreed that homes in Canada are overpriced, and 69% said the market is unfair to first-time buyers. A further 68% said the market is too focused on housing as an investment. Just 14% said the market is functioning the way it should.<\/p>\n
A generational split ran through the data. Among those aged 18 to 34, 63% agreed that homeownership feels out of reach, roughly double the 31% recorded among respondents 55 and older. Agreement that homes are overpriced was also higher among younger respondents, at 92%, compared with 82% of those 55 and older.<\/p>\n
The affordability squeeze persists even as prices ease. The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) reported its benchmark price index fell 4.1% year-over-year in May 2026, yet the national average sale price still edged up 1.5% over the same period, leaving ownership beyond reach for many.<\/p>\n
Buyers wait as spring market recovers<\/p>\n
The survey found demand simmering rather than dead: 35% of non-homeowners said they wanted to buy but would likely keep renting (28%) or living with relatives (7%). Interest was lowest among non-owning women, 62% of whom reported no plans to buy, compared with 47% of non-owning men.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"That reading aligns with independent institutional data. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. projects the economy to grow just…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":118006,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[13946,17,817,40256],"class_list":["post-118005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-affordability","tag-canada","tag-canadians","tag-interest"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118005"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118005\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}