Two-thirds of Ontarians spend a third of their income on housing: survey

By Shazia Nazir, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Milton Reporter

A new survey has found out that nearly two-thirds of Ontarians are spending almost a third of their income on housing as Canada remains gripped by the rising costs of living.

The survey, conducted for Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) found that the rising cost of living is greatly impacting Ontario’s families – and shows that the pressures of rising interest rates have worsened, not improved, overall housing affordability in the province.

It found that 64% of Ontarians were spending over 30% of their household budget on housing. Further, 95% agreed life was more expensive today than it was just two years ago, with nearly half reporting they may have to make difficult choices to make ends meet.

Many Ontario families were reducing entertainment or meals out, driving less, and spending less on groceries to cut back in light of rising rates, the survey found.

The desire to own a home, however, is growing, particularly among the province’s renters, with 69% of non-homeowners saying they were someone who ‘really wants to own a home’ (+9). Just 5% identified as ‘someone who would be happy renting forever’ – a 17% drop from January.

While decreasing home prices may address one aspect of affordability, it does not help overall affordability: 82% of Ontarians say today’s higher mortgage rates are making buying a home more (37%) or much more (45%) difficult.

Jenna Oliver, a Milton resident who has been renting a house for the last 20 years, said she had never seen rents skyrocket by this margin. As a single parent, she said, it was becoming harder for her to divide her income between housing and groceries, both of which were becoming expensive. “I moved into a smaller apartment to save up on my rent, but now the rent for even an apartment this size has swelled to a sizable chunk of my previous rent, so I spent a lot of money on moving but I am not saving that much”, she said.

Samar Patel, another Milton resident, said he now thought thrice, not twice, before spending any money on entertainment and nights out with friends. “By this time of last year, I did not have to really sit and think whether it was okay to spend money on outing once a week, but this one year has changed so much for me”, he said, “I am sure this must be the case with many others”, he added.