The economists at the largest bank in Canada can see the plain reality:
Housing affordability in Canada was at its worst level in 31 years at the end of 2021, according to RBC Economics, which is warning that there’s no relief in sight for the country’s already-stretched homeowners.
Here's a shocking statistic for those who live outside of Canada:
Almost half of median pre-tax household income (49.7 per cent) would have been required to cover mortgage payments and other costs tied to owning a home, on an aggregate basis, in Canada in the fourth quarter of last year.
Note these two words: pre-tax and household. Take the median Canadian couple where both people work. Assume that their income is the same. In the current market, the entire after-tax income of one person is not enough to cover the housing costs for the average property! This means that both people must work to live in the average-priced house.
An anecdote: rent for a one-bedroom apartment in my building used to be ~$500. Now, it's $1,500. A new worker making minimum wage working 50 weeks of the year would make $25,000 after tax in Ontario. So, after rent, a low-skilled single person would have $7,000 left to spend in the entire year.
This is not going to end well.