Homeownership seems like a pipe dream for many Calgarians: poll

Is homeownership possible for you? Living and housing costs are continuing to rise with inflation, interest rates, and a competitive seller’s market.

Here’s what Calgarians had to say if they think it’s ever going to be possible to buy a home.

“No it’s unrealistic to buy a home right now, it’s cheaper to just rent.”

“It used to be but not anymore.”

“How realistic is it to buy a home? No, it’s crazy. it’s unreachable, you can’t reach it.”

“My husband and I were just talking about it and we’ll probably never own a home again if the prices keep going like this so I don’t know about you guys.”

“Probably going to live in a bus.”

“And then if you buy an old house you gotta change all the windows and doors. What about that garage door? That’s gotta be fixed.”

But there is a glimmer of hope for those who decide to get creative.

“What I’ve seen is a lot of younger people are buying houses together with people and everyone is chipping in to pay it off,” said one Calgarian.

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As the housing market crisis continues to keep people renting, a recent poll from Scotiabank shows half of Canadians between the ages 18 to 34 have put off plans to buy a home due to interest rates increasing.

“My dad is looking. I know the housing market is pretty bad right now. I don’t think it’s realistic for future people to afford housing, no.”

“I bought a home cause I just moved here from Toronto and that was a very unrealistic market there,” said another.

The average home in Toronto is worth over $1 million. A man who just moved to Calgary says he wanted to take advantage of the prices here.

“The house that we got was $450,000 which was a good deal possible to buy a house.”

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Julisa Ly has been trying to buy a home for the past 4 months. She’s learning the market is extremely competitive even for those who are on the brink of ownership.

“I’ve tried to put offers on a couple homes and I end up getting outbid and for a couple of those homes it’s been over 100K asking,” said Ly.

Ly is looking for an inner-city, but her search has widened over time as she tries to find one.

She’s also realizing that with the high cost of fixing up a home, a down payment, and a competitive seller’s market renting is proving to be an easier way.

“When you calculate all that and realize it is cheaper renting than owning and being house poor,” said Ly.

Vancouver has the most expensive housing market in Canada with an average home costing $1.3 million. Winnipeg is the least expensive for a major city at $400,000. Calgary sits at about $530,000.