More and more Canadians are delaying their plans, Scotiabank says
Amid the current economic environment, nearly half of Canadians (43%) said that they are delaying their plans to purchase a home, according to the latest edition of Scotiabank’s Housing Poll.
This significantly surpassed the share seen during the height of the pandemic (33% in 2021 and 20% in 2020). Scotiabank found that concerns over affordability, interest rate hikes, market volatility, and economic uncertainty are the main factors fuelling Canadians’ pessimism towards homeownership.
“It’s no surprise that a perfect storm made up of the rising cost-of-living, housing supply shortages, and increased demand has caused Canadians to feel like homeownership is out of reach,” said John Webster, head of real estate and secured lending at Scotiabank.
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The sentiment was most prominent among younger Canadians. The poll found that 90% of Canadians in the 18-34 age range believe that housing prices will continue to increase over the next 12 months, with 62% saying that they are waiting for housing prices to moderate before their purchases.
Half (51%) of Canadians aged 18-34 also said that they have postponed their purchase plans due to interest rate hikes, while 56% said that the current economic environment has eaten into their home-buying funds.
The quest for greater housing affordability has pushed 35% of Canadians away from major cities (compared to 29% in 2021). Among younger Canadians, 49% said that they are planning to move out of their current cities, Scotiabank said.
