What’s Happened to All the Canadian Homebuyers?

Interest rates are low, prices are the most affordable in years, and property ownership hasn’t lost its appeal — yet Canadian homebuyers are still sidelined.

By Josh Sherman | 3 minute read

.

Interest rates have stabilized, and home prices have fallen markedly from the previous peak — normally, these conditions would be the kindling necessary to heat up the housing market. 

Yet sales activity in most markets has been muted — or worse — despite some improvements towards the end of spring. So with favourable conditions for homebuyers in many Canadian cities and towns, what’s keeping people from entering the market?

The results of a new survey from RBC appear to confirm what many have suspected all along: economic uncertainty. The Homeownership Poll is a barometer of Canadian homebuyer confidence, gathering market perceptions from respondents from coast to coast. Among those who are planning to purchase within the next two years, three-quarters (75%) say economic uncertainty is making them more cautious. A similar share (72%) agree that this is the main challenge to buying a home, and more than two-thirds (67%) worry economic uncertainty could affect their homebuying plans altogether.

​​“Rising costs and shifting economic conditions have made every step of the homebuying journey feel higher-stakes, and the pressure of whether to act is weighing on Canadians,” said Janet Boyle, senior vice president of home equity finance at RBC, in a news release. 

When the BoC began cutting its overnight rate in February 2020, the RPS-Wahi House Price Index recorded substantial increases. Fueled by cheap credit, Canadians engaged in a homebuying frenzy, bidding prices higher and higher. About two years later, shortly after the BoC embarked on its first hike since the pandemic, the index began declining as borrowing costs climbed.

However, as the central bank initiated a new rate-cutting program in June of 2024, the cycle did not repeat. Interest rates declined, then stabilized — yet home prices and sales volumes continued their descent at the national level. 

Prior to the RBC survey, there were some indications that economic uncertainty was in fact keeping a lid on sales and prices. Wahi’s third annual Homebuyer Intentions Survey found that uncertainty regarding personal finances — which could be a result of broader economic trends — was more prominent than what was observed in the previous year.

Further, in May of 2025, Wahi analysis found that home prices were already declining or flat in seven of the 19 markets that the Canadian Chamber of Commerce had flagged as being particularly exposed to U.S. tariffs. As of this May, that number has grown to 14 markets. 

Of course, perceptions — and consumer behaviour — are not uniform throughout Canada.

The highest share of respondents to consider the market a buyer’s market were in B.C. (39%) and Ontario (38%), while the lowest shares were in Atlantic Canada (9%) and Quebec (12%). Interestingly, in none of the regions or provinces surveyed did the majority of respondents consider the market favouring homebuyers.