2026
8
Canada Home Purchasing Consumer Report 2026
2026-05-27T16:01:14+00:00
REP6F114F00_ABA0_41D9_914F_00ABA031D978
3695
193681
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Report
en_GB
Canada's housing market is at an inflection point. Homeownership remains a powerful marker of financial success, but access is narrowing. The national homeownership rate has declined since the early 2010s…
Canada
Mortgage and Loans
simple

Canada Home Purchasing Consumer Report 2026

Canada's housing market is at an inflection point. Homeownership remains a powerful marker of financial success, but access is narrowing.

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  1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

    • What you need to know
    • Outlook for home purchasing
    • Opportunities
    • Convert delayed demand into completed purchases by building readiness earlier in the journey
    • Differentiate at the point of decision by reducing friction, not just rates
    • Build early loyalty with New Canadians through structured guidance models
  2. THE MARKET

    • Ontario housing starts surpass pre-2008 levels but remain volatile
    • Graph 1: Ontario housing starts (actual), total units, 2005-25
    • Canada’s home ownership rate reflects structural participation constraints
    • Graph 2: homeownership rate (%), 1971-2021
    • Rising real estate values have become the primary driver of household wealth growth
    • Graph 3: growth in real estate assets by age group over time, 2005-23
    • Affordability and financial stability concerns dominate barriers to home ownership
    • Graph 4: select reasons for not owning a home right now, 2026
  3. THE CONSUMER

    • Home ownership still defines financial success, even as access narrows
    • Housing demand remains latent, with most Canadians homeowners not planning to buy additional properties
    • Consumers expect financial institutions to play a more active support role
    • Graph 5: plans for home purchase (primary vs additional property), 2026
    • Parents remain active home buyers
    • Graph 6: plans for additional home purchase, by parental status, 2026
    • Barriers to homeownership
    • Homeownership plans vary widely in timing rather than intent
    • Graph 7: home purchase intentions, 2026
    • Younger Canadians are postponing homeownership, not abandoning it
    • Graph 8: home purchase intentions, by generation, 2026
    • Canadians are adapting their housing decisions
    • Affordability pressures and financial barriers outweigh credit constraints in limiting homeownership
    • Affordability pressure is reshaping expectations of homeownership and bank support
    • Graph 9: top home purchasing attitudes, 2026
    • Adapt mortgage engagement as younger generations rethink how ownership is achieved
    • Graph 10: home purchasing attitudes, by generation, 2026
    • Buyers stay engaged by adjusting strategies, not exiting the market
    • Turn active buyers into homeowners through embedded guidance and financial tools
    • Graph 11: select housing related plans, by consumers actively buying a home, 2026
    • Win future mortgage demand by shaping preference during the planning phase
    • Graph 12: select housing related plans, by consumers planning on buying a home, 2026
    • Differentiate mortgage choice by combining flexibility with clarity and guidance
    • Graph 13: select resources in place to support buying a home, by gender, 2026
    • Buyers are preparing unevenly, leaving confidence gaps banks can address
    • Decision drivers shift toward flexibility and clarity over brand and guidance
    • Differentiate mortgage choice by prioritizing flexibility, clarity, and ease
    • Graph 14: select most important factors in choice or a mortgage provider*, 2026
    • Differentiate mortgage choice through flexibility, clarity, and guidance
    • Graph 15: Most important factors in choice or a mortgage provider, by generation, 2026
    • Homebuyers are actively building readiness through savings, debt reduction, and research
    • Win new Canadians by leading with navigation, clarity, and readiness support
    • Graph 16: done or plan to do regarding housing related decisions, by Canadian status, 2025
  4. INNOVATION AND MARKETING STRATEGIES

    • Innovation and marketing
    • Acknowledging volatility and uncertainty felt when navigating today’s housing market
    • Removing “credit history” as a psychological barrier
    • Early integration of financial context reflects longer home-buying journeys
  5. APPENDIX

    • The consumer
    • Consumer research questions
    • Consumer research methodology
    • Generations
Download Report Summary

"Homeownership demand will increasingly be unlocked not by lower prices alone, but by providers' ability to help consumers navigate the complex journey from intent to readiness."

Radha Paleja, Senior Analyst, Financial Services

Canada’s housing market is at an inflection point. Homeownership remains a powerful marker of financial success, but access is narrowing. The national homeownership rate has declined since the early 2010s as real estate values have continued to rise, highlighting a growing gap between aspiration and ability to act. This points to a market challenged by participation, not demand.

Home-buying journeys have become more complex than in the past, where clearer affordability, lower borrowing costs, and more predictable timelines allowed for faster progression from intent to purchase. Today, higher entry costs, stricter borrowing requirements, and greater uncertainty around total ownership costs have turned homeownership into a multi-stage process requiring extended savings, planning, and validation before decisions can be made.

As a result, longer and more complex journeys are reshaping consumer behaviour and competition. Many Canadians remain engaged through planning and preparation over extended periods, while housing wealth is increasingly shaped by timing of market entry. Confidence, clarity, and feasibility now matter earlier in the journey, well before transaction.

This report looks at the following areas:

  • Structural factors reshaping access to homeownership in Canada.
  • Why delayed purchasing reflects readiness gaps rather than declining intent.
  • How longer housing journeys are changing consumer planning and engagement.
  • The growing role of guidance, clarity, and process quality in mortgage choice.
  • How timing and life stage shape housing wealth outcomes and confidence.

 

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