Canadian Housing Affordability Still Needs Improvement

It’s encouraging to see that Canadian housing affordability showed its 11th straight quarter of improvement in Q2 2026, with the national affordability reading now at about 41%. What’s behind this? Lower home prices, decreased borrowing costs, and stronger incomes have all played a part. Still, for many families, home ownership remains a significant challenge—housing costs are still taking up roughly two-fifths of the average household’s income. It’s worth noting that these figures use average (not median) disposable income, which can make affordability look a bit better on paper than what many folks actually experience. According to bank economists, the recent shift comes after early rate cuts, a nearly 20% drop in prices since 2022, and some growth in personal incomes. But with only slow income gains and not much additional rate relief on the horizon, it may take further price adjustments for affordability to improve in a meaningful way. As someone who’s helped buyers and sellers in Nova Scotia for over a decade, I know how deeply these trends impact real people and their dreams of home ownership.