MNI BRIEF:Canada Mortgage Holders Uneasy About Making Payments
Canadian mortgage holders are increasingly uneasy about making payments, according to a federal housing agency survey published Wednesday.
The share of mortgage consumers confident about making future payments fell to 78% last year from 90% in 2022, according to polling for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. Just two-thirds of respondents were comfortable with their level of mortgage debt, down from 84%.
The figures come the day before the Bank of Canada's financial stability report. The policy rate climbed to 5% from near zero during the pandemic and the housing squeeze has put Justin Trudeau's Liberals behind in polls ahead of elections due by late next year. Some 44% of first-time buyers reported they were involved in a bidding war and 35% paid more than they had planned. (See: MNI INTERVIEW: Canada Housing Agency Sees Resale Price Boom)