As of May 30, 2025, Canadian consumer confidence remained marginally positive, according to the Bloomberg Nanos Canadian Confidence Index (BNCCI). The overall uptick in sentiment was driven in large part by improving perceptions of local real estate values.
Real Estate Sentiment Gains Strength
The Expectations Sub-Index of the BNCCI, which captures consumer views on the economy and real estate values, climbed to 48.35, up from 41.51 a month previously. This gain reflected growing optimism around the future of housing prices. In fact, 38.28% of Canadians surveyed believe real estate values in their neighbourhoods will increase over the next six months, while just 16.39% expect a decline. The share expecting values to stay the same sits at 40.51%, with only 4.82% unsure.
The trend has been moving upwards; the positive rating on housing was 29.60% a month ago and 39.41% last week.
This rebound in housing sentiment stands in contrast to views on the broader economy, which remain weak. Only 18.85% of respondents expect economic conditions to improve in the next six months, while 47.34% anticipate a downturn and 23.64% foresee no change. Despite a slight uptick from the 13.74% positive rating recorded four weeks previously, this remains below the 2008 to 2025 average of 20.08%.
The BNCCI, which aggregates consumer sentiment on personal finances, job security, the national economy, and real estate values, uses two sub-indices: the Pocketbook Index (focused on finances and job security) and the Expectations Index (focused on the economy and real estate). A composite score above 50 suggests net positive sentiment. Though the current index sits only slightly above this threshold, the real estate component has helped buoy the overall reading.
The Expectations Sub-Index has historically correlated with Canada’s real GDP growth, showing a 0.82 correlation with year-over-year GDP change (with a six-month lag) as of early 2020.
The Bloomberg Nanos Index is based on a random, weighted telephone survey of 1,000 Canadians, designed for national representativeness. While the current sentiment is down from the index’s July 2021 high of 66.42, it marks an improvement from earlier in 2025 and highlights real estate as a rare bright spot in an otherwise cautious economic environment.