36% of young Canadians don’t think they can afford home purchase any more

Housing prices in many Canadian cities have reached record high levels over the pandemic. As a result, some Canadians are even ready to give up on becoming homeowners.

The recent survey by RBC shows that 36% of non-homeowners under the age of 40 don’t think they can afford a home purchase any more.

More than 2,000 Canadians aged 18 and up were polled, and 62% of them believe the majority of people will be pushed out of the real estate market during the next 10 years because of extremely high prices.

However, despite tight market conditions caused by a strong demand and a lack of supply, 30% of respondents still plan purchasing a property over the next two years. It’s 8% more than a year ago.

“Record low mortgage rates and the on-going economic uncertainty have created many unknown factors for home buyers,” – noted Amit Sahasrabudhe from RBC.

“Today, in addition to determining what they can afford, potential home buyers have to undergo a mortgage stress test to see whether they can cope with their payments in case of a rate hike, job loss or unexpected expense.”

Although the pandemic has helped many Canadians to increase their savings, the survey shows it could be not enough for people who want to buy residential real estate.

Almost half of poll respondents said their budget doesn’t exceed $500,000, while according to the CREA, the average home price in February reached $678,091.