Two-thirds of Canadians concerned about rising home prices: Nanos survey

New polling from Nanos Research has found that two-thirds of Canadians are expressing concern over rising housing prices, with concern highest among younger Canadians.

Of the respondents, 41 per cent indicated that they were concerned and 24 per cent said they were somewhat concerned about the increasing costs of housing. Additionally, a third of respondents said there were concerned or somewhat concerned about paying their mortgage or rent.

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Respondents between 18 to 34 were also most likely to be concerned or somewhat concerned about rising housing prices (72 per cent) and paying their mortgage or rent (49 per cent).

Concerns over rising home prices were highest in B.C. (71 per cent) and Ontario (70 per cent).

But the cost of housing isn't the only thing that has surged over the past year. Gas prices have also shot up to historic highs, although that hasn't done much to sway Canadians away from their cars, the poll suggests.

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Nearly seven in 10 Canadians say they are not interested (52 per cent) or somewhat not interested (13 per cent) in taking public transit more often amid the high price of gas. Respondents from the Prairies and Ontario were the most likely to say they are not interested.

Meanwhile in B.C., the province that has seen some of the country's highest gas prices, just under 40 per cent said they were interested or somewhat interested in taking more public transit.

B.C. is also the province that has seen the highest interest in electric vehicles. Over 77 per cent of B.C. residents surveyed said they were interested or somewhat interested in owning an electric vehicle. Meanwhile, across Canada, 32 per cent of respondents said they were interested and 34 per cent were somewhat interested – similar numbers to what was seen in last year's poll.

With inflation at a 31-year high, according to Statistics Canada, about one in four Canadians also reported cancelling a major purchase while 12 per cent said they sped up a major purchase because of inflation. Canadians between the ages of 18 and 34 were more than twice as likely to have cancelled a major purchase compared to those 55 or over.

• Read more: Six charts that tell the story of Canada's soaring inflation

METHODOLOGY

Nanos conducted an RDD dual frame (land- and cell-lines) hybrid telephone and online random survey of 1,005 Canadians, 18 years of age or older, between April 29 to May 2, 2022 as part of an omnibus survey. Participants were randomly recruited by telephone using live agents and administered a survey online.

The sample included both land and cell lines across Canada. The results were statistically checked and weighted by age and gender using the latest Census information and the sample is geographically stratified to be representative of Canada.

Individuals randomly called using random digit dialling with a maximum of five call backs. The margin of error for this survey is ±3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

This study was commissioned by CTV News and the research was conducted by Nanos Research.