Affordability is barely improving for many buyers, making the homeownership dream feel further away than ever
Canada’s housing affordability crisis is rumbling into the second half of 2026 – and with a significant number of young Canadians having stopped believing homeownership will ever happen for them, mortgage brokers find themselves talking those potential buyers through that gap.
A recent national survey conducted by Abacus Data for the Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) found that 89% of non-homeowners aged 18 to 29 still want to own a home someday, but only 29% of non-homeowners overall are confident they’ll ever manage it.
That disillusionment plays out daily in client conversations, according to Nova Scotia-based broker David Clarke (pictured top) of Clarke Mortgage Group.
He told Canadian Mortgage Professional he’s seen a broader cultural shift among younger buyers, one that’s sometimes described as “doom spending.” With many of those Canadians increasingly convinced they’ll never be able to put together enough for a downpayment or afford a home, some are prioritizing travel and experienced-based spending instead of saving for a home.
“Trips and things like that are way more normal than they ever used to be,” he said. “Now, I think it’s very normal for people to go on a trip every year. It’s that type of spending, and saving money is becoming less of a thing.”
The grim picture for young potential homebuyers is illustrated by the fact that many are having to turn to family assistance to afford a downpayment. The so-called Bank of Mom and Dad has been a major factor in the Canadian housing market in recent years, creating a clear divide between buyers whose families can afford to help them and those whose relatives aren’t in a position to do so.
What are brokers advising disillusioned young homebuyers?
Clarke said it’s common for younger buyers not to realize that plenty are in the same boat, and described his approach as resetting expectations rather than simply running numbers. “I try to set the expectation of what normal is, because sometimes people think they’re the only ones going through how hard it is,” he said.
“I explain that a lot of people get help from family. Sometimes people feel too embarrassed to even ask their family for help, so just explaining how normal that is gives them a bit of reassurance that they’re not doing anything wrong by asking.”
In many cases, the downpayment isn’t always the real barrier – debt servicing is. A 2% downpayment program introduced earlier this year through the provincial government in partnership with credit unions hasn’t seen the uptake expected, according to Clarke, since qualifying for enough to buy in the first place is often the bigger obstacle for clients.
A competitive market at the lower end
While activity has remained sluggish across many Canadian housing markets in 2026, Clarke described a Nova Scotia market where the properties sitting longest tend to be pricier ones rather than entry-level homes.
Houses in the $600,000 to $700,000-plus range are taking longer to sell, he said, while anything in the $380,000 to $450,000 range moves quickly – meaning plenty of competition for first-time buyers hoping to get their foot in the door.
Higher competition in the market often leads to bidding wars, frequently freezing out younger buyers with less purchasing power than couples or buyers who have already built up equity in their own home.
Clarke also said he’s noticed more homeowners and small developers building secondary rental units on existing lots rather than putting up new single-family homes, a shift he sees as a response to tight land supply rather than any drop-off in demand for housing more generally.
Despite the affordability challenges facing new homebuyers, Clarke said he still sees homeownership as a meaningful long-term goal for clients weighing up whether it’s worth the stretch.
“Owning a home is powerful,” he said. “If you look at the statistics on how much someone has in retirement [as a homeowner] … it’s a big deal. It’s cool to get in, but it’s hard to get in.”
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