REGATE

Few acts more optimistic than shopping for a home. You walk through its doors, run your fingertips along its appliances and see your face reflected in its windows and mirrors. You consider untapped versions of your life, imagining yourself waking up every day in that bedroom, cooking every day in that kitchen and letting the years unfold between those walls.

Real estate agents understand this allure. The good ones package it up, serving it to clients in the form of property tours that show off not only a house, but also the life that a house can offer. And the really good ones are so adept at spinning the fantasy that they’re building multi-million careers on it.

As you sit on the home’s plush sofa and stare at the soaring ceiling of its “great room” you wonder at the life choices this magnificent dwelling could make for you.

But in the real world, the dream of homeownership is more elusive than it has been in decades. Housing affordability in Canada is at a crushing low, with skyrocketing prices, elevated mortgage rates and a shortage of inventory for middle-income families.

In one of the cruelest housing markets in history, Canadians are turning from fantasy to reality to meet their real estate desires.