Young Canadians Feel the Most Pressure to Buy Property: Wahi Survey

The 2025 Homebuying Pressure Point Survey by Canadian real estate listing website Wahi looks at how societal expectations around home ownership affect Canadians.

By Josh Sherman | 3 minute read

For many young Canadians, the pressure to purchase a home is as common as the expectation that they have children or get married.

Millennials (Gen Y) and zoomers (Gen Z) are feeling significantly more pressure to own a home than the generations that preceded them.

That’s just one of the findings from a new Wahi survey of Angus Reid Forum members that asks Canadians, including both owners and renters, how attitudes towards homeownership are affecting them.

Wahi’s 2025 Homebuying Pressure Point Survey suggests that a majority of millennials (54%) and many Gen Zers (41%) have been under pressure to own a home at one time or another — and it’s so pervasive that it’s comparable to the pressure to get married or have children.

This surpasses the response at the national level, as 34% of Canadians of all generations say they have experienced the pressure to purchase. The pressure on younger Canadians also stands in stark contrast to responses from members of Gen X (30%) and baby boomers (13%), the groups with the highest homeownership rates.

“As Canadian home values have increased over the decades, so has the pressure to own real estate,” says Wahi CEO Benjy Katchen. “While long-term price trends suggest homebuying is often a smart decision, it’s important that Canadians do their due diligence before making what will likely be the biggest purchase of their lives,” he continues.

Societal Expectations Are the Leading Source of Pressure to Own Property for Millennials and Gen Z

Wahi’s 2025 Homebuying Pressure Point Survey also asked participants to identify the sources of the pressure they are experiencing. Respondents could choose one or more of the following options: societal norms, personal goals, family, finances, friends, or other.

• Most Gen Zers (59%) and millennials (55%) cited societal norms as a source of pressure — the most popular response for these cohorts.

• Societal norms were less of a factor for Gen Xers (33%) and baby boomers (27%). Instead, personal goals were the most common pressure point for Gen Xers (34%) and baby boomers (31%).

• Older generations were also far more likely to say there is no pressure at all to own property in Canada. Some 27% per cent of baby boomers and 21% per cent of Gen Xers shared this sentiment, compared to just 13% of Gen Zers and 11% of millennials.

A Generational Divide

From views on the challenges facing young homebuyers today to the rate of home ownership, responses varied sharply by age group. 

• Approximately 81% of boomers and 74% of Gen Xers own property in Canada, versus 61% of millennials and 21% of Gen Z.
  
• Millennials are most likely to self-identify as the generation to face the most pressure to own property (47%), followed by Gen Z (40%), Gen X (39%), and baby boomers (36%).

• The pressure for Gen Z to own property is about as prevalent as the pressure to have children (43%) or get married (43%).
• For millennials, the pressure to have children (53%) was about as widespread as the pressure to own property, though the pressure to get married was somewhat less common (43%).

The pressure Canadians are facing could be contributing to more pessimistic views towards the attainability of homeownership.

Two-thirds of Canadians were still homeowners as of the most recent national census, in 2021, yet a majority of respondents (62%) believe that the ownership rate is 50% — or less. 

Meanwhile, 50% of those surveyed say the general perception of renting a home in Canada is unfavourable.

The inability to buy a home is also leading to dissatisfaction for many non-owners. For example, 51% of non-owners are discontent with not owning a property. 

The Pressure to Own Property Is Lowest in Quebec 

Respondents from some provinces are significantly less likely to report feeling the pressure to purchase property than others.

The pressure to own was lowest in Quebec and Atlantic Canada, regions with relatively more affordable home prices. It was highest in Alberta, which is attracting homebuyers from other more expensive provinces, and B.C., home to some of the country’s priciest local housing markets. 

Methodology:

These findings are from a survey conducted by Wahi from June 17th to June 19th, 2025, among a representative sample of 1,500 online adult Canadians who are members of the Angus Reid Forum. The survey was conducted in English and French. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +/-2.53 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.