Poll finds many Ontarians giving up on 'unaffordable' dream of home ownership

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A new poll from the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) says 1 in 4 aspiring homeowners have given up, describing the dream as “unaffordable” and “overpriced.”

The OREA survey says despite 71% of Ontarians wanting to own a home with lower interest rates, and cooling inflation, homeownership continues to be perceived as “expensive.”

In the poll, over 6 in 10 non-homeowners describe themselves as someone who “really wants to own a home” and within this group, 80% think it has become more difficult to buy a home over the past year, with 55% expecting housing prices to increase somewhat in 2025.

The survey found nearly half of these aspiring homeowners have either given up believing they will ever own a home (25%) or are pessimistic about the possibility (24%).

Conducted by Abacus Data, the Housing Affordability in Ontario: Perceptions, Impacts, and Solutions (Wave 5) survey also found that with a majority of Ontarians expecting housing prices to increase over the next year (51%, +16% from 2023), now is the time to act.

The poll found 75% strongly support reducing municipal development charges, and 72% say they would support the Ontario government setting limits.

The survey said Ontarians further believe the responsibility of paying for infrastructure should lie primarily with either the provincial government (41%) or the municipality (25%), rather than being passed down to new homebuyers.

“Homeownership is a milestone that many Ontarians aspire towards,” OREA President Rick Kedzior said in a statement.

“Unfortunately, prohibitive costs like development charges are being tacked onto the price tag and pushing affordability further out of reach. That’s why, since 2019, OREA has been lobbying the provincial government to look at ways to reduce development charges and make homeownership more affordable.”