October 30, 2023 – The high cost of housing is taking its toll on Canadians, with 37% very stressed by it. Housing pains are especially acute for those paying down a mortgage (42% very stressed) and renters (52% very stressed).
Indeed, only 18% of renters believe buying a home is attainable in their future. Even among renters with 6-figure household incomes, only 28% consider home ownership an attainable goal.
Faced with these stressors, the majority of Canadians (60%) support increasing housing density in Canadian cities. However, many are still reticent about the idea of increasing housing density where they live. When asked how they would feel about a single-family home on their block being converted into a triplex, just 20% would see it as a “good thing” while more than twice that would see it as a “bad thing”.
Those living on streets with both single-family and multi-family units are split evenly on how they would feel about a triplex conversion (good thing 27% / bad thing 25%), but those living on single-family home blocks are cool to the idea (good thing 17% / bad thing 50%). See the full details in our report.
