For generations, entering the Canadian housing market was viewed as a natural rite of passage for young adults in their twenties. Fresh out of university, starting a first career, or settling down with a partner, millions of Canadians once expected to hold the keys to their own front door before their thirtieth birthday. Today, however, that foundational milestone of adulthood is rapidly shifting from a milestone of early youth into a distant, hard-won achievement reserved for the middle decades of life.
According to a comprehensive new poll commissioned by RBC, non-homeowning Canadians now realistically expect to reach the age of 41, on average, before they are finally able to cross the threshold into homeownership. This staggering projection places today’s aspiring buyers a full 12 years behind the average age at which current homeowners report having purchased their very first property. For a significant portion of the population, even that delayed timeline remains shrouded in ambiguity and doubt, leaving a cloud of uncertainty hanging over an entire generation’s financial future.
The survey, conducted by Leger between August 5 and 24, 2026, captured the perspectives of 1,810 Canadians aged 18 to 64. The data paints a stark picture of a housing market fundamentally altered by structural affordability pressures, where homeownership feels less like an attainable step toward long-term stability and more like an exclusive financial summit. Among the non-homeowners surveyed, fully half stated that they simply have no idea when—or if—they will ever be in a financial position to purchase a property.
This massive barrier to entry has triggered a profound generational divide across the country. Nearly three-quarters of respondents, sitting at 74 per cent, firmly believe that purchasing a home in the current economic climate is vastly more complicated than it was for previous generations. Furthermore, 65 per cent of those surveyed expressed frustration that older generations—who largely benefited from more accessible housing markets and lower relative interest rates—fail to fully comprehend the unique financial headwinds facing today’s young buyers. The disconnect runs deep: 52 per cent of respondents went so far as to say that traditional homebuying wisdom passed down from parents and grandparents is no longer relevant in today’s unprecedented economic environment.
The Starter Home is Changing
As the timeline for homeownership stretches further into the future, the traditional Canadian real estate playbook is being thrown out entirely. For decades, the accepted wisdom of the market encouraged buyers to purchase a modest "starter home"—a small condo, townhouse, or fixer-upper—build equity over time, and eventually trade up to a larger property as their family or career grew.
However, that traditional progression is rapidly losing its appeal as transaction costs, land transfer taxes, legal fees, and high borrowing costs make frequent moves financially prohibitive. Among first-time buyers who are actively planning to purchase a property within the next two years, an overwhelming 74 per cent indicated a clear preference for bypassing the starter home entirely. Instead, they would rather stretch their finances to buy a property that they can comfortably stay in for the long term, avoiding the need to navigate the turbulent housing market a second time.
Current homeowners appear to intimately understand this shift in strategic thinking. More than half of current homeowners, or 52 per cent, admitted that moving up from their initial property has proven to be significantly more difficult than they initially anticipated. Additionally, 46 per cent of existing homeowners revealed that while they would ideally like to transition into a larger or different property to better suit their current needs, they cannot realistically afford to do so in the current market climate.
Brad Evjen, a senior mortgage specialist at RBC, noted the delicate and high-stakes balancing act that modern buyers must perform when considering their initial entry into the market. Buying a home meant to accommodate future needs from day one requires a significant upfront financial commitment.
"Buying a home you can stay in longer usually means stretching your budget further, so the math has to work in both directions," said Evjen. "For some, the bigger first home is the better decision. For others it isn’t, and it’s worth knowing which of those two scenarios fits your situation before you start looking."
More Buyers Considering Living with Family
With traditional market entry points blocked by high prices and stringent mortgage qualification rules, soaring affordability pressures are forcing Canadians to rethink not just the type of home they buy, but who they share it with. The concept of multigenerational living, once relatively uncommon in mainstream Canadian suburbs, is quickly gaining traction as a practical survival strategy.
The RBC poll revealed that 53 per cent of prospective buyers who plan to enter the market within the next two years would actively consider purchasing or living in a multigenerational home. The willingness to pool resources extends across generations as well. Among current homeowners, 35 per cent indicated they would consider selling their existing property to buy a larger home alongside their adult children, effectively acting as a financial bridge to help the next generation break into the locked market.
Among prospective buyers who see the value in this communal approach, 34 per cent believe that multigenerational living is becoming an increasingly common reality purely due to affordability constraints. Meanwhile, 32 per cent view it straightforwardly as a sensible and practical way to manage day-to-day housing costs in an expensive economy.
"Canadians are finding new ways to make one of life’s biggest purchases possible," said Janet Boyle, senior vice-president of home equity finance at RBC, highlighting the creative and adaptive measures everyday citizens are adopting to overcome systemic market barriers.
Uncertainty About Timing
Even for those Canadians who have managed to accumulate the necessary capital for a down payment, the psychological toll of entering the market remains heavy. Prospective buyers are deeply divided on the critical question of timing, caught between two opposing financial anxieties.
Half of the prospective buyers surveyed worry that continuing to wait on the sidelines could result in being permanently priced out of the market if real estate values resume an upward trajectory. Conversely, an equal share of respondents harbors the opposite fear: that purchasing a property now, amidst economic volatility, could mean watching the value of their newly acquired asset fall shortly after closing.
This pervasive financial anxiety is not confined solely to those trying to break into the market for the first time. Current homeowners who are facing mortgage renewals in the near future are also feeling the pinch of economic pressure. Among homeowners scheduled to renew their mortgages within the next two years, 51 per cent reported that the upcoming renewal process feels nearly as stressful as the initial experience of buying their first home. Furthermore, 60 per cent of these renewing homeowners expect that their next mortgage term will place a noticeable strain on their overall household finances.