The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
Bloomberg
Canadians are piling on debt to purchase property at the fastest pace in more than a decade amid a pandemic-driven
housing boom.
Household mortgage debt grew by 1% in April to C$1.69 trillion ($1.4 trillion), Statistics Canada reported. That’s the fastest pace since 2010. In absolute terms, residential mortgage credit was up C$17 billion during the month, the largest one-month increase ever.
Low borrowing costs, tight supply and increased demand for single-family homes during pandemic have spurred bidding wars and a spike in home values across the country. The data shows just how much the boom in prices is fueling mortgage debt — a major concern for
policy makers.
The average sale price for a home in Canada has surged 38% to C$688,208 over the past year, according to data from the Canadian Real Estate Association.
Total credit to households was up 0.9% in April, the fastest gain since 2011, to C$2.49 trillion. While mortgage debt is soaring, Canadians have pared back on other types of debt since the start of the pandemic. Non-mortgage credit was up slightly in April but still remains below pre-pandemic levels.