Half of Canadians renting their homes believe they are unlikely to ever become homeowners, according to a survey conducted for the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada).

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Although the variability of the answers suggests a glimmer of hope, several respondents seem to be feeling down because of the real estate situation. In fact, 69% of those surveyed attribute their inability to buy a property to the instability of their income and 84% to their inability to pay a down payment.

While many are particularly pessimistic in the face of soaring prices and the restriction of access to property, others are more optimistic. Indeed, 21% of the second half believe it is “very likely”. On the other hand, 29% consider that it is “fairly likely that they will enter the real estate market”.

"Buying a home remains a priority for many people, but it's increasingly difficult to achieve," said Doretta Thompson, financial literacy leader at CPA Canada.

Owners also pessimistic

As for homeowners, 81% of them consider themselves unable to assume the cost of renovations, while 89% make rising interest rates their main concern, a finding that is not surprising.

In addition, 46% of owners “struggle to meet basic maintenance costs” and 60% say that “the renovations their home requires are an issue”.

Furthermore, according to survey figures, women “are more likely than men to see ownership factors as challenges.”

As a result, 93% of women surveyed say they are concerned about rising interest rates, while the percentage for men is 85%. Also, 86% of women say they are worried about the down payment, compared to 81% of men.

For parents housing one or more of their adult children, 31% consider that “this situation is due to the high cost of housing”.

On the other hand, Millennials and Generation Z strongly believe they can buy a house one day, at 75% and 70% respectively.

This optimism does not carry over to “Boomers” (38%) and Generation X (13%)

The survey, soliciting a total of 2,000 people aged 18 and over, was conducted online on the IPSOS Omnibus platform between March 24 and April 4, 2022.

The poll's release detailed that "combined data was weighted by age, gender, education level and region" so that the composition of the sample reflects that of Canadian demographics. .