Nearly half of Canadian homeowners say moving up is financially unrealistic
A new RBC poll finds 46 percent of owners cannot afford a larger or different home, creating gridlock in the housing market.
Nearly half of Canadian homeowners say they want a larger or different home but cannot afford to move, according to a new poll that highlights gridlock in the housing market.
The RBC 2026 Home Ownership Poll found 46 percent of current owners say moving up from their first home is not financially realistic.
Most homeowners, 52 percent, say moving up is harder than they expected, a problem the whole industry is about to feel.
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"Buying a home you can stay in longer usually means stretching your budget further, so the math has to work in both directions," said RBC senior mortgage specialist Brad Evjen.
He prefers to walk clients through monthly payments against what moving up in five years would cost.
The poll also shows first-time buyers are getting older.
Aspiring first-time owners now plan to buy at 41 years old on average, which is 12 years later than current owners did.
That may be an optimistic number, as nearly half of them were unsure when they would be able to buy a home.
Seventy-four percent of non-owners said becoming a homeowner is much harder than it was for past generations.
Over three in four, 77 percent, believe buying is harder than it was in the past, and 60 percent say traditional buyer advice is no longer true.
Existing homeowners are likely to agree with that last point.
With that later start, 74 percent of aspiring first-time buyers are now looking for a long-term home instead of a starter property.
Starting ownership 12 years later than average means very different property needs.
This shift means starter homeowners will see their liquidity turn into their competition.
If existing starter home owners can't buy the next rung, those sellers face reduced liquidity.
At the same time, there are fewer starter homes for buyers to get onto the property ladder in the first place.
The survey found that 57 percent of prospective first-time buyers would consider multi-generational living with parents.
However, it's not just a first-time buyer thing. Most buyers overall, 53 percent, including those who currently own, would consider multi-generational living.
Nearly half, 44 percent, of all respondents, including those not in the housing market at all, would also consider the option.
Twenty-nine percent of prospective first-time buyers say multi-generational buying is more a necessity than a choice.
A problem that parents are receptive to. Thirty-five percent of homeowners say they're prepared to sell and jointly buy with their kids to help them enter the market.
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With files from Better Dwelling