Is homeownership becoming out of reach for young Canadians?
Only 18% of those in the youngest cohort said they felt equipped to handle every financial dimension of a purchase.
Young buyers named saving and planning for a down payment (19%) and understanding ongoing ownership costs (19%) as the weakest points, followed by knowing how much home they could afford (18%), awareness of government incentives and programmes (14%), and calculating closing costs (10%).
Young Canadians lacking confidence in at least one homebuying area
82%
Aged 18–34 who feel fully confident across all aspects of buying
18%
Canadians who tapped into long-term savings in the past year
40%
Areas of lowest confidence — Canadians aged 18–34
% who identified this as an area of low confidence
Saving and planning for a down payment
19%
Understanding ongoing costs after buying
19%
Knowing how much home they can afford
18%
Knowing which incentives or programmes they qualify for
14%
Understanding closing costs
10%
Areas of lowest confidence — prospective buyers who have never owned
% who identified this as an area of low confidence
Saving and planning for a down payment
30%
Understanding how much home they can afford
18%
Understanding ongoing costs of homeownership
14%
Source: 2026 Zown Homeownership & Financial Confidence Survey — Zown / Angus Reid Forum — 1,500 adult Canadians — October 14–16, 2026 — margin of error ±2.53 percentage points, 19 times out of 20
Savings drawn down to meet everyday costs
Some 40% of Canadians dipped into long-term savings over the past year to cover ordinary expenses — 29% for emergencies, 22% for groceries and everyday purchases, and 13% for regular housing costs including rent or mortgage payments.
As Canadian Mortgage Professional’s reporting on Canada’s housing affordability challenges facing mortgage shoppers has shown, improving macro-level conditions in prices and rates have yet to relieve household-level financial strain.
Alberta led regionally at 48%, followed by Saskatchewan and Manitoba at 44% combined, Ontario and British Columbia at 41% each, Atlantic Canada at 35%, and Quebec at 34%.
