Over half of renters 'seriously considering' leaving GTA due to high cost of housing
A new poll from Angus Reid has found both homeowners and non-owners agree housing prices in the Greater Toronto Area are “unreasonably high.”
The new public opinion poll found that renters are specifically feeling shut out of the real estate market, with more than half (59%) saying they’re “seriously considering” leaving the GTA because of the high cost of housing.
It also found that the high cost of housing is hurting the region overall.
“This dismal outlook corresponds with some deeply pessimistic attitudes expressed in this survey,” reads the report.
More than eight-in-10 GTA residents (84%) say they are “worried the next generation won’t be able to afford to own a home” in the region, while nearly half (47%) agree with the statement “I’m seriously thinking of leaving the GTA because of the cost of owning a home here.”
Moreover, more than one-in-three non-owners surveyed (36%) said they would like to buy a home now, while 52% of the total respondents said they hope home prices fall at least “slightly” in the next four years.
To improve affordability, more than two-thirds of GTA residents (68%) say the government should be more involved in the housing market and this total rises to three-quarters (75%) in the City of Toronto, proper.
The poll also found that two-thirds of respondents (65%) are dissatisfied with the way municipal governments in the region have been approaching and handling housing affordability in recent years.
As for what is a contributing factor to high prices, nearly half of respondents said foreign buyers are influencing prices. Respondents said they were “overwhelmingly” in support of a foreign buyers’ tax in Ontario and a tax on vacant homes.
Additionally, 84% said they would support a tax aimed at foreign and domestic homeowners who don’t pay taxes in the province and 81% are in favour of a “vacancy tax” on investor-owned properties that are unoccupied.
The online poll, which randomly sampled 831 GTA members, was conducted between May 25 and June 5.
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