The vast majority of Canadians, or 70%, consider local home prices to be high, either unreasonably or understandably so, compared with a decade ago, when opinions were more evenly split between those who viewed prices as reasonable and those who viewed them as unreasonable, the Angus Reid Institute said Friday.
Ten years ago, housing affordability was primarily an issue in Vancouver and Toronto, but it has since become a national concern, according to the survey.
The most notable shift has been in previously more affordable cities such as Calgary, Winnipeg, Montreal and Halifax, where perceptions that homes are overvalued have increased significantly, Angus Reid said. Overall, 43% of respondents described home prices in their neighbourhoods as unreasonably high, while only 18% considered them reasonable.
Affordability pressures are also evident in household finances, with more than one-third of Canadians reporting financial difficulties. That figure rises to 45% among renters and is highest among lower-income households, according to Angus Reid.