More than one in three mortgage holders report financial difficulty

Higher mortgage payments are putting growing financial pressure on Canadian homeowners, according to new findings from the 2024 Canadian Housing Survey, a joint initiative of Statistics Canada and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

Statistics Canada’s analysis of the survey found that 26.1% of homeowners with a mortgage were living in unaffordable housing in 2024, up from 23.6% in 2022. Housing is considered unaffordable when shelter costs consume 30% or more of a household’s before-tax income.

More than one in three mortgage holders, or 36.2%, also reported experiencing financial difficulty because of higher mortgage payments over the previous 12 months, up from 28.3% in 2022.

Among households that bought their first home between 2019 and 2023, 27.4% were living in unaffordable housing in 2024, while 34.1% said higher mortgage payments had caused financial difficulty, more than double the 16.4% reported among recent first-time buyers in 2018.

Affordability dissatisfaction among the group also increased sharply, with 33.1% saying they were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied in 2024, compared with 13.4% in 2018.

First-time buyers still stand apart

A separate CMHC analysis of the same survey found that recent first-time buyers remain relatively unlikely to be in core housing need.

“Mortgage qualification requirements act as a strong affordability screen,” CMHC said, adding that “only households with sufficient income, stable employment and manageable debt loads can enter ownership.”

Just 4.6% of first-time homebuyers were in core housing need in 2024, compared with 6.0% of other homeowners and 22.1% of renters.

Unlike the 30% affordability threshold, core housing need also considers housing adequacy and suitability, as well as whether a household could afford suitable alternative housing in its community.

CMHC noted that recent first-time buyers tend to be 25 to 34 years old, have relatively high incomes and have an employment rate of about 91%. They are also more likely than other mortgage consumers to receive financial help from family or friends for a down payment.

Mortgage costs drove the latest affordability deterioration

Mortgage holders drove much of the deterioration in housing affordability between 2022 and 2024.

Across all Canadian households, 23.2% were living in unaffordable housing in 2024, up from 22% two years earlier. Statistics Canada said the increase was driven by homeowners with mortgages, while the unaffordability rate among private-market renters was unchanged over the same period.

Homeowners with mortgages also recorded the sharpest increase in dissatisfaction with affordability. Some 28.2% said they were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied in 2024, nearly matching the 28.9% rate among private-market renters, a group that has historically reported higher levels of dissatisfaction.

The survey period captured the impact of borrowing costs that remained well above the ultra-low rates available during the pandemic. Statistics Canada noted that fixed-rate mortgages due for renewal in 2025 had originally been taken out when the Bank of Canada’s policy rate was at or below 1%.

“Higher rates may continue to have an impact on affordability perceptions of mortgage holders in the future,” the agency said.

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Last modified: September 21, 2026