Canadians want housing affordability so badly, 64% would relocate for it

Housing affordability has become a major priority for Canadians, especially due to the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on real estate.

With sky-high rents and bloated home sale prices, more and more residents are willing to be more flexible in order to afford a home.

According to a new report on housing affordability put together by real estate company RE/MAX, 64% of Canadians are willing to relocate if it means they can afford a home. Relocation was one of the top three sacrifices they’d be willing to make.

With today’s inflation news and housing prices a particularly hot topic, our new 2022 Housing Affordability Report couldn’t have come at a better time: https://t.co/ekdfetpOBG

— RE/MAX Canada (@REMAXca) July 20, 2022

On Wednesday morning, Statistics Canada released their Consumer Price Index, and noted that inflation had hit an astonishing 8.1%, making living expense management and housing affordability a hotter topic than ever.

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While a huge chunk of Canadians are okay with moving away to have a roof over their head without emptying their bank account, half say they would do it if they got to live a little closer to home.

Fifty percent said they’d only be willing to move somewhere less than 100 kilometres away from where they already are.

The report also listed the most affordable places to live in the country.

Red Deer in Alberta took the top position in Western Canada, followed by Regina in Saskatchewan and Brandon in Manitoba, respectively.

Metro Vancouver in BC saw the biggest year-over-year price change at almost 20%.

RE/MAX

Meanwhile, in Eastern Canada, Thunder Bay in Ontario was the most affordable spot for homebuyers, even though the year-over-year price for homes has gone up by 17.58%.

St. John’s in Newfoundland and Labrador, and Moncton in New Brunswick came in as a close second and third, respectively.

The rest of Eastern Canada is also increasingly unaffordable compared to Western Canada. Home prices spiked way more steeply between 2021 and 2022.

RE/MAX