The big winners in Canada’s 2026 housing market? First-time buyers
“A lot of my clients are first-time homebuyers and they’ve finally been able to break in,” she said. “This year, I’m finding that they’re finally able to get into the market. With the 30-year amortization that we can now go to, I find a lot of my buyers that have been on the sidelines are finally able to… stay in their hometown where they’ve grown up, and not have to go elsewhere.”
That’s a stark difference, she added, from the dispiriting environment of the pandemic. “A couple of years ago when there were multiple offers and bidding wars, it was so disheartening to have these conversations with people whose families have been in our counties for decades, and them not being able to break into the market,” she said. “So this year has been really heartwarming, and last year too.”
How long will home affordability improvements last?
Across Canada, home affordability improved in 10 of 13 major markets in August, according to Ratehub.ca’s latest Home Affordability Report, meaning buyers in those cities needed less income to qualify for a mortgage than the previous month.
But Ratehub’s vice president of mortgages Jamie David suggested that the affordability window for hopeful buyers may be closing. Recent rate jumps, she said, “show how important it is to secure a rate hold amid the current market volatility.”
