Ownright survey reveals 4 in 10 Ontarians hit with unexpected costs when closing on a home, despite being financially ready

After years of whiplash in Canada’s housing market, many buyers are tired.

Prices are slowly coming down from their peak, and interest rates have stabilized. On paper, conditions are starting to look more reasonable. And yet, home sales remain sluggish. 

It’s tempting to chalk that up to affordability alone, but the reality is more nuanced. Between October 23, 2025, and November 10, 2025, we conducted a survey among 250 Ontarians who have closed a home with Ownright since 2023. For being the biggest purchase of most people’s lives, homebuying is still pretty confusing, so we wanted to understand what surprised them and what could be keeping would-be homeowners on the sidelines. We found that, even for homebuyers ready to jump back into the market, the mental weight of navigating an unclear, overwhelming and unforgiving process is holding them back. Gone are the days of affordability being a defining factor in real estate activity. The future will be shaped by how confident people feel moving through the process. Key statistics: 

• 41% say buyers need more education to understand total closing costs

• One in four (25%) say they need better guidance on budgeting post-purchase

• 21% say they need more support managing debt and credit before buying

• 29% want clearer breakdowns of final closing adjustments (utilities, taxes, credits)

Financially ready doesn’t always mean mentally prepared

Most buyers enter the market feeling confident from the outset.

In fact, 97% of Ontarians said they felt financially stable when they bought their home. More than half (56%) described their position as strong, while another 41% said they felt stable, though stretched.

But that confidence doesn’t always survive the paperwork.

Once the closing process begins, so does the stress. Nearly half of buyers (46%) said mortgage terms were the most confusing or stressful part of the entire process, and 37% experienced moderate to significant financial stress due to unexpected or unclear closing costs.

This stress shows a gap between knowing you can afford something and understanding what you’re agreeing to. Buyers feel financially literate when it comes to saving for a down payment or qualifying for a mortgage. But that confidence falters when faced with dense legal language, lender conditions and line items that often appear late in the process.

It’s a kind of confidence illusion. The numbers make sense until the fine print arrives. And buyers want more support: 

• 41% say homebuyers need more education to understand total closing costs

• 25% say buyers need better guidance on budgeting after purchase

• 21% say more education is needed around managing debt and credit before buying

Financial readiness alone isn’t enough. Without clear, timely information, confidence quickly gives way to doubt.

The stress doesn’t end on closing day

For many Ontarians, unease lingers well after the keys change hands.

While 51% say they feel confident in their financial footing after closing, the rest describe a more fragile reality:

• 16% feel uneasy about interest rates or home values impacting their finances

• 6% say the process drained their finances more than expected

• 37% continue to report moderate to significant stress tied to unexpected or unclear costs

Looking back, many buyers say they wish they’d asked more questions earlier.

• 24% wish they’d asked their real estate agent or lawyer about additional costs beyond the down payment and mortgage

• 17% wish they’d clarified what was — and wasn’t — included in closing costs

Perhaps most telling, 21% say the experience made them more motivated to plan financially after buying, suggesting the true scope of the commitment only became clear once it was already behind them.

For such a life-changing transaction during an uncertain financial climate, that realization is coming far too late.

When clarity is missing, buyers search wherever they can

In the absence of timely explanations from professionals, buyers don’t wait around. They ask ChatGPT. They Google. They scroll. They try to make sense of a complex process in real time, often without knowing which sources to trust.

Nearly four in ten buyers (39%) said online research was their primary source for understanding the financial aspects of closing, more than lawyers and real estate agents. 

And yet, they know this isn’t the best way to find their information: 

• Only 6% say online sources or social media are their most trusted source of information

• 51% say their lawyer is the most trusted source for clear, reliable financial information

• 22% say mortgage lenders or advisors are their most trusted source

Despite that trust, only 25% learned about the financial aspects of closing directly from their lawyer, and just 21% from their real estate agent.

The disconnect between what sources people actually use and who they trust is a timing issue. Buyers trust professionals, but too often, critical information arrives late, buried in documents or explained only after decisions have effectively been made. So buyers fill the gaps themselves, even when they know Google or ChatGPT isn’t the ideal guide.

The biggest pain points are the ones that should already be clear

What’s striking about the data isn’t just how much stress buyers feel. It’s where that stress comes from.

Buyers are asking for clarity on fundamentals: 

• 29% want clearer breakdowns of final closing adjustments, such as utilities, taxes, and credits

• 16% want better explanations of legal fees and disbursements

• 14% want clearer explanations of the timing and purpose of deposits

These are predictable elements of nearly every transaction. In any other industry where customers can track costs and steps in real time, like e-commerce or travel, this information would be surfaced early and clearly. But in real estate, they’re bundled together, explained late, or buried in legal language, becoming sourcesbecoming a become sources of anxiety rather than routine steps.

Why transparency will define the next era of homebuying

As Ontario looks toward 2026, affordability will always be part of the conversation. But this data suggests another factor is just as powerful for homebuyers: conviction.

People are exhausted, and not just by home prices. Canadian families could pay $1,000 more for groceries in 2026. Young Canadians are now reporting some of the lowest happiness levels on record, feeling the pressure from a challenging job market and financial insecurity. The question many are asking isn’t can I buy?—it’s should I? 

In that environment, uncertainty carries more weight than ever. When the process feels opaque, hesitation fills the gap. Transparency becomes the difference between waiting and acting. Buyers who feel informed are more likely to move forward, even in a cautious market, because clarity restores a sense of control at a time when much of life feels financially unpredictable. That raises the bar for real estate lawyers and agents. Their value will increasingly lie in interpretation and helping clients understand not just what the documents say, but what the numbers actually mean for them. As buyers grow accustomed to instant answers from AI and online search, timely, plain-language communication will shift from a differentiator to an expectation.

Transparency is at the core of why Ownright exists. Our CEO, Robert Saunders, founded the company after his own first-time homebuying experience left him overwhelmed by confusion and unanswered questions. As people feel pressured at nearly every part of daily life, optimism isn’t enough for people to make a big financial step of buying a home.

In 2026, the buyers who move forward will be the ones who feel supported, prepared and able to trust the path in front of them.