Written by 3:17 AM Reports • 5 Comments Views: 9

Average Mortgage Grows 36% In 48 Months

Mortgage-Balance-Growth-in-Canada Over the last four years the average Canadian mortgage has increased in size by 36%, according to data from Ipsos Reid’s Canadian Financial Monitor.

There’s also been a slight shift towards variable rates.

2006 2010
% of Households with a mortgage 34% 34%
Avg. Mortgage Balance $105,000 $143,000
% with fixed rates 71% 68%
% with variable rates 29% 32%

Going forward, people will be watching to see if rising rates and/or falling home prices reverse the trend. If so, average mortgage balances could drop for a while.

Conversely, there is always a possibility that down payments will shrink and/or people will take out more equity from their homes. Either of these things would counterbalance the above and support mortgage balances to some extent.

It’s difficult to speculate, though, since historical data on average balances, down payment size and equity take-outs is hard to come by.

Visited 9 times, 1 visit(s) today

Last modified: April 26, 2014

Robert McLister is one of Canada’s best-known mortgage experts. A mortgage columnist for The Globe and Mail, interest rate analyst and editor of MortgageLogic.news, Rob has been covering Canada's mortgage market since 2007.

Close