TORONTO – Housing costs continue to eat up a large portion of Canadians’ take-home pay. And those costs are a significant source of stress for homeowners and renters alike, a new poll has found.
An exclusive Ipsos Reid survey for Global News found that three in 10 Canadians polled said mortgage or rent payments are a significant source of stress — Albertans and British Columbians led the pack with 36 per cent each.
Nearly four in 10 Canadians (37 per cent) said that saving for a down payment causes them grief, led by those in Ontario, at 40 per cent.
The stress isn’t necessarily surprising, given how much money Canadians spend on housing. According to the poll, the average Canadian spends 40 per cent of their take-home pay on housing costs, including taxes and utilities.
Canadians who rent, however, spend a much higher amount on housing costs. Renters spend on average 48 per cent of their income on housing, compared to 35 per cent for homeowners.
While the goal of renters may be to one day own a home, this goal seems out of reach for many. Just 17 per cent of renters agreed that, given their current income, they’d be able to buy a house or condo anytime soon. A whopping 83 per cent disagreed.
Nearly half (48 per cent) of those polled think there is a housing bubble in Canada — also agreeing that they think home prices will come down drastically over the next few years.
This week on Global News’ Smart Money series, we’ll take a closer look at real estate, stories on whether young Canadians will ever be able to afford a home, a closer look at massive mortgages, tips on saving for a down payment and house-hunting, and more.
Follow the conversation online at Globalnews.ca/smartmoney and on Twitter, #GNSmartMoney.
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The data, summaries and commentary in exclusive Global News / Ipsos Reid polling are subject to copyright. The data, summaries and commentary may only be rebroadcast or republished with full and proper attribution to both Global News and Ipsos Reid in all web articles, on social media, in radio broadcasts and with an on-screen credit for television.
This Ipsos Reid poll was conducted between Jan. 29 to Feb. 3, 2015. A sample of 1,003 adults was interviewed via the Ipsos I-Say online panel. This poll is accurate within +/- 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
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