Canada’s affordable housing crisis

Homeownership has become far too out of reach.

That’s because a shortage of housing supply and rising construction costs have driven up home prices. As mortgage rates have increased, borrowing money to buy a home has become more expensive. Meanwhile, incomes have not kept pace with the rising cost of housing, food, clothing and transportation, making it very difficult to save for a downpayment.

For many people in Canada, owning their home has long been seen as a key to financial and personal stability, but this goal is increasingly seen as impossible. Canadians even tell us that owning a home “feels like a luxury.”

The latest census data show that renting is growing twice as fast as homeownership in Canada. Additionally, twice as many renters as homeowners live in unaffordable or overcrowded homes, or those requiring major repairs, without affordable alternatives nearby.

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Canada’s gap between the price of homes and what people earn has doubled since 1987. No other G7 country has seen such a stark deterioration in housing affordability.

And Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) says that Canada needs to build an additional 3.5 million homes by 2030 to restore housing affordability.

Access to safe and affordable homeownership provides the foundation for long-term economic and social well-being – and we have the data to show it.

Our research on the impact of Habitat’s affordable homeownership program finds that Habitat homeowners have measurably better economic and social outcomes than similar Canadians who rent, and those outcomes contribute significantly to Canada’s productivity.

• The majority of Habitat homeowners report better physical and mental health, greater participation in community events, and better financial security after becoming homeowners.

• Habitat homeowners’ total incomes are 28% higher after moving into their home than if they had continued renting.

• Habitat household add an estimated $35 million more to Canada’s GDP annually because they became homeowners.

Habitat’s program is helping to build a healthier, more inclusive, and more prosperous Canada for generations to come.

Together, we can find affordable pathways to homeownership

Habitat is on the frontlines of making homeownership accessible to Canadians who would have otherwise had little opportunity to own their own home. We don’t just believe it’s possible: we know it is, because we’ve been doing it for more than 40 years.

As Canada’s only national affordable homeownership organization, we have a unique perspective of developer, builder, mortgage holder and family service organization that informs our advocacy work.

By growing our impactful affordable homeownership program, and working with governments and other partners to drive systemic changes in Canada’s housing system, we will continue to bring people together to build strong, inclusive communities where everyone has an equal opportunity to own their own home.