As housing affordability remains a challenge for millions of Canadians amid the heightened cost of living, a new survey suggests many are open to alternative options like modular homes if it means getting easier access to the real estate market.
The survey report was released Tuesday from Meridian Credit Union, which asked 1,500 Canadian consumers as well as a national panel of 250 construction industry owners, operators and executives between May 13 and June 8, 2026, about their outlook on the housing market.
More than three-quarters (77 per cent) of consumers said housing attainability is a critical issue for Canada’s future, and nearly two-thirds (62 per cent) said they would consider non-traditional housing options such as modular, prefabricated or tiny homes for getting into home ownership.
Modular or prefabricated homes are houses or other permanent shelters that get built in factories either as individual sections or components. Those homes and are shipped to customers to be assembled relatively quickly and at a lower cost than building a home on site from scratch.
Purchasing a home that is prefabricated or modular can mean a lower purchase price for consumers, and more affordable mortgage options compared to traditional homes that may have cost more to build.
Younger survey participants may be more inclined to consider these options, with 87 per cent of Millennials and 81 per cent of Gen Z reporting ongoing stress relating to housing costs.
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“Canadians are showing us that homeownership is no longer one-size-fits-all,” said Jay-Ann Gilfoy, president and CEO of Meridian Credit Union in the report.
“From co-ownership arrangements to modular housing and rent-to-own models, people are adapting to today’s realities and looking for new ways to achieve their housing goals. The challenge is ensuring those options are supported by the financing, supply and partnerships needed to make them viable.”
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This comes after the federal government announced last year that it was providing funding and federal land to add 540 modular homes in Downsview Park in Toronto. The government said at the time that at least 40 per cent of those homes would be affordable and the development would provide studios and one- to three-bedroom homes.
Even though the survey suggests there is heightened demand for these alternative housing options, businesses say they are struggling to meet that demand.
Among the group of construction industry participants in the survey, nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) said they are struggling to secure financing for projects because of rising costs for materials combined with general economic uncertainty.
Even if ideal financing was available and materials were relatively cheap, 78 per cent of construction firms and 94 per cent of enterprise level employers said a shortage of skilled trades people will still delay these projects from starting.
Forty-one per cent of builders also said that because there is a dwindling pool of skilled trades talent, the cost of available labour has skyrocketed.
Among the multiple types of construction related jobs businesses said they were having a tough time filling, 28 per cent said construction labourers were the hardest roles to fill, while 18 per cent said it was carpenters or framers.
“While builders want to build, many are facing a market where rising costs, financing pressures and reduced buyer confidence make it difficult to advance new projects,” said Jason Teal, vice president of business banking at Meridian in the report.
“To create more attainable housing, we need an environment where development is economically viable and where aspiring homeowners have the confidence and means to enter the market.”
– with a file from Global News’ Isaac Callan
If Canadians weren’t as stupid as they seemingly are, they would not elect politicians like Olivia Chow that jack up taxes because they have the economic wherewithal of a chimpanzee.
You know what causes housing to spike?
Municipal taxes
Provincial taxes
Federal taxes
Idiot trade wars
Poor negotiation skills
Supply management issues created by ideologies like globalism.
This is why boomers could afford houses, and younger Canadians cannot.
Canadians want housing to not be multiples higher than other markets due to endless municipal taxes and fees.
We want intelligent people in office that don’t make public statements deriding homeowners over where the city that overcharges for everything approved the placement of their meters decades after the fact like a empty headed moron.
And yes, my comment is directed at Ariel.
No, this is a lie.
@Roy DePape. Those people actually manufacture and produce things. What we dont need are white trash inbreds. Canada could be emptied out and the rest of the world wouldnt even notice
Hello there good afternoon my name is momo and I’m 55 years and I’m witting for b. C Houseing for 14 years and anytime I call to see anything available the say call Avery months all I’m saying that my dream is to have sample home may I ask is this possible to have save home please advise
I’m sure all the unnecessary taxes the liberals have heaped on Canadians has nothing to do with the costs today. Spineless media is the other half of the problem.
We don’t have a housing shortage, we have an overpopulation problem. A sustainable world population is around 2 billion people, we are at roughly 8 billion. If these poor countries truly have 80 million new births every year, maybe mass sterilization would solve the issue. Seems draconian but the alternative is 100x worse.
They don’t want alternative housing options, they want AFFORDABLE housing options.
What people have to realize is that the type of homes that can be produced quickly will not contain all of the extra value items that have contributed to the high cost of homes, but will be just basic structures that do two things, give protection from the weather and provide a safe environment in a sealed structure. Other than that they will be very basic. It worked after WW2 but those type of houses don’t increase quickly in value. But they kept families warm and safe.
We need more slums for the little kiddies that do not really want to hold a job like their Grandparents did.
No, we just want to rid ourselves of communists and drooling boomers.