A new poll has stated that Ontarians want their government to do something to increase access to homeownership.
The survey was released on Thursday by the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA). It said that 51 per cent of Ontarians believed having an affordable place to sleep is a "top priority" for provincial lawmakers. That's up from 35 per cent of respondents in 2021.
"For most of Canadian history, it was a given that every generation had a better shot at homeownership than the last," said OREA CEO Tim Hudak. "But today, that dream is slipping from too many young families in Ontario as they are frozen out of the housing market due to a historic lack of housing supply driving up prices. These issues cannot be solved without governments taking bold action."
In all, a whopping 92 per cent of those interviewed overall named affordable housing as a "high", "very high", or "top" priority.
The "top priority" percentage is higher in southwestern Ontario, according to the survey as broken down by region, at 56 per cent.
The poll also confirms that young people have continued to struggle to find an affordable home. For ages 18 to 29, 59 per cent list that as a "top" priority, with the same response coming from 58 per cent of those aged 30 to 44.
While finding affordable housing is high on the list of Ontarians, building more homes is not necessarily as urgent. Overall, the survey said a plurality of 28 per cent named increased home construction as a "high" priority, and 22 per cent as "top".
Nevertheless, Hudak said the provincial government must make increasing the housing stock a necessity, if Premier Doug Ford's vision of building a million-and-a-half homes provincewide in the next decade is to become reality.
"It’s clear that homeownership is top of mind for many Ontarians," said Hudak. "Pro-growth, pro-housing solutions must continue to be championed if we want to get more shovels in the ground and bring more supply to market."
Affordable housing was the third-highest priority listed on the OREA poll, behind the cost of living and improving healthcare.
The complete OREA survey can be found on the association's official website.
