Vancouver and Toronto residents ‘miserable’ and considering escape (study)

Toronto and Vancouver don’t have the happiest of residents, and that’s something that may be obvious if you read any sort of Canadian real estate news. A pair of studies from the Agnus Reid Institute now has some data to back this up.

According to two studies released late August by Agnus Reid, “more people would classify their feelings about their cities’ respective housing markets as ‘miserable’ than in a similar study conducted just three years ago.”

Toronto

In one of Canada’s megacities, Toronto, 27% of survey respondents described their “housing pain level” as “miserable”. That’s an increase of 17% since 2015. Another 27% described themselves as “uncomfortable” with their city’s housing market, which makes nearly 60% of all respondents distressed in some sense.

Vancouver

Vancouver saw a less drastic shift from the previous 2015 numbers, however, 22% still stated housing pain in the city made them feel “miserable”, a 4% increase, while 26% said they were “uncomfortable”, a 1% decline.

Ditch the city

When the study asked those “miserable” respondents if they were considering leaving the cities they were in, 81% of those surveyed in Vancouver said they were “seriously thinking of leaving” because of housing costs. Around 75% of Toronto’s “miserable” were considering leaving the 6ix, too.

Toronto’s unique despair comes by way of public transit woes. More than half of this city’s “uncomfortable” were frustrated with how long it took them to get to work from their home. They simply cannot afford to move closer to their office. Moreover, 74% of the “miserable” respondents felt the same.

“One of the most notable findings is the level of perceived damage being done to each region,” the Angus Reid Institute wrote in the study. “While few from either metropolitan area are inclined to say housing prices are benefitting the area collectively, Metro Vancouver residents are significantly more negative about the impact.”

54% of respondents in Vancouver believed housing costs were hurting their area ‘a lot’ compared to 30% of GTA residents who felt the same.