1 in 4 Canadian Households Now Unaffordable — Mortgage Holders Drove the Jump in 2024

Statistics Canada released results from the 2024 Canadian Housing Survey today (September 21), and the national affordability picture got worse — not because renters suddenly paid more of their income, but because mortgage holders did.

In 2024, 23.2% of Canadian households spent 30% or more of before-tax income on shelter — the conventional “unaffordable” line — up from 22.0% in 2022. Renters in the private market remained far more likely to cross that line (33.7%) than owners overall (17.4%). That renter–owner gap has been stable since the survey’s first cycle in 2018. What moved the national needle was mortgaged ownership.

Mortgage holders, not renters, drove the rise

In 2024, 36.6% of households were homeowners with a mortgage, 27.8% owned free and clear, and 31.3% rented in the private market. Among mortgaged owners, 26.1% lived in unaffordable housing, up from 23.6% in 2022. StatCan is explicit: that increase drove the overall rise in unaffordability, while market renters’ unaffordability rate was unchanged over the same two years.

That is the Ontario/GTA read-through in one sentence. The resale and rate story of 2023–2024 — higher carrying costs on renewals and new purchases — shows up in the survey as a mortgage-stress story, not a fresh jump in the share of renters already over the 30% line.

Financial difficulty and dissatisfaction jumped harder than the 30% ratio

Beyond the shelter-cost-to-income ratio, households reported how costs felt. In 2024, 27.9% said a household member experienced significant financial difficulty over the previous 12 months because of increases in rent or mortgage payments, up from 22.6% in 2022.

Dissatisfaction with affordability rose faster still: 23.3% of households were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied in 2024 — up 8.8 percentage points from 2022 (14.5%) and more than double the 2018 rate (11.1%). Mortgaged owners’ dissatisfaction climbed to 28.2%, roughly matching market renters (28.9%) — a group that historically sat higher on that measure.

Among homeowners with a mortgage, more than one in three (36.2%) reported financial difficulty due to increased mortgage payments, up 7.9 percentage points from 2022 (28.3%). StatCan notes that fixed-rate mortgages due for renewal in 2025 were originally locked when the Bank of Canada policy rate was at or below 1% — so renewal pressure can keep shaping perceptions even after a rate-hold stretch.

First-time buyers: more of them, and more stressed

Just over one in ten households (10.6%, or 1.74 million) were recent first-time homebuyers in 2024 — they bought their first home between 2019 and 2023. That is up from 8.7% (1.28 million) in the 2018 survey window. The share of those first-time buyers living in unaffordable housing rose from 24.9% in 2018 to 27.4% in 2024. More than one-third (34.1%) reported difficulty from increased mortgage payments — more than double the 2018 rate (16.4%) — and 33.1% were dissatisfied with affordability versus 13.4% in 2018.

For GTA agents and lenders, that is a reminder that “more first-time buyers got in” during the low-rate window is not the same as “those buyers are comfortable now.”

Renters: movers vs. sitting tenants, primary vs. secondary

Private-market renters who moved in the past two years paid an average monthly rent of $1,740 in 2024, versus $1,290 for sitting tenants who had been in place two years or more. Two in five recent movers (40.0%) lived in unaffordable housing, versus 32.2% of sitting tenants. Recent movers were also more likely to report rent-driven financial difficulty (44.5% vs 33.5%) and affordability dissatisfaction (45.5% vs 24.4%).

For the first time, the survey splits purpose-built (primary) rentals from the secondary market. Almost half (45.6%) of private renters lived in the primary market. Average rent was $1,300 in purpose-built stock versus $1,460 in the secondary market, while unaffordability rates were similar (33.9% vs 34.2%). Primary-market renters reported more financial difficulty from rent increases (39.0% vs 33.1%), more dissatisfaction (32.3% vs 26.1%), more crowding (13.3% vs 7.5%), and more frequent dwelling issues (38.2% vs 32.2%) — cold draughts, heating problems, air quality and pests led the list.

Social and affordable housing demand is still climbing

690,500 households lived in social and affordable housing in 2024 (4.2% of households), up from 621,400 (4.0%) in 2022. Waitlists grew faster than stock: 301,000 households had at least one member on a waitlist (up from 245,900), and 59.2% of those had been waiting two years or more. Median SAH household income was $30,270; 51.5% found it difficult or very difficult to meet financial needs, and 31.7% of SAH households spent 30%+ on shelter — up 6.3 percentage points from 2022.

Young renters still want to buy — with thin registered savings

Among renters aged 25 to 39, 85.5% said becoming a homeowner in the next 5 to 10 years was important or somewhat important. In that group, 22.1% held an FHSA, 58.5% a TFSA, and 46.6% an RRSP. Young renter couples with registered savings showed a median total of $20,250 across those vehicles; young renters without a spouse or partner showed $15,330. Those figures exclude gifts and non-registered assets — but they underline how thin the typical registered down-payment cushion still is relative to GTA entry prices.

What this means for Ontario buyers, renters and agents

Today’s release is national (10 provinces; collection ran Oct 28, 2024–Mar 31, 2025). Ontario- and Toronto-specific cuts were not in the Daily headline tables, so we are not inventing local percentages. The national pattern still maps cleanly onto the GTA conversation of the past two years:

• Renewal and carrying-cost stress is the incremental story — mortgaged owners moved the unaffordability rate, not a fresh jump in renter over-30% shares.
• Recent movers pay a large rent premium over sitting tenants — relevant wherever vacancy is thin and sitting rents lag asking rents.
• Purpose-built rentals look cheaper on average rent but score worse on financial difficulty, crowding and dwelling quality than the secondary market.
• First-time buyers who entered 2019–2023 are carrying more payment stress and dissatisfaction than the prior cohort — a client-care and renewal-planning issue for agents and mortgage brokers.

CMHC is also publishing companion Housing Observer notes today from the same survey (aspirations, core housing need, discrimination). Collection for the 2026 CHS cycle begins October 26, 2026.

Compiled by the Real Estate HQ editorial desk from primary data releases (sources linked below) and reviewed for accuracy. Figures are as reported on the release date.

Sources

• Statistics Canada, The Daily — Housing affordability in Canada, 2024 (released 2026-09-21; Canadian Housing Survey, collaboration with CMHC)