Canadians have been house crazy during the pandemic, and it’s been a big boost to the economy. Now with housing returning to more typical volumes, it’s turned into a drag on the economy. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) data shows real gross domestic product (GDP) slipped lower in July. Even with a pullback, it’s making progress […]
Global bond yields are rising and it’s going to push the cost of financing a mortgage a lot higher. The Government of Canada (GoC) 5-year bond yields pushed higher again yesterday. Earlier this week, we mentioned lenders are considering reversing recent mortgage rate cuts. Now we have our first to actually execute — TD. More […]
Canadians are once again comfortable spending their recent home equity windfall. The balance of home equity line of credit (HELOC) debt reached a new record high in July. Growth has recovered from last year’s low, and is now at the highest level since before the pandemic. Canadians Owe Over $267 Billion In Debt Secured By […]
Canada’s largest banks cut mortgage rates last week, and now they might need to reverse the cuts. Half of Canada’s “Big Six” banks cut the interest rate on their 5-year fixed rate mortgages at the end of last week. It might have seemed like a no-brainer back then, but a week is forever ago in […]
Canadian households devote an astronomical amount of income just to carry their debt payments. Data from the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) shows Canadian households have a very high debt service ratio (DSR). The ratio dropped in Q4 2020 slightly, but it’s still much higher than any other G7 country. Not even the US housing […]
Canadian household indicators are showing their debt problems are rapidly resurfacing. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) data shows the ratio of household debt to disposable income surged in Q2 2021. This measure indicates debt is growing faster than the rate of income. Debt as a ratio of income has actually never seen such fast annual growth […]
Canadian debt is dirt cheap, but it won’t be this cheap forever, warns BMO. Douglas Porter, the bank’s chief economist, expects the cost of borrowing to remain “low for long.” He just doesn’t see it being quite as low as the current stimulus driven environment. As governments taper stimulus to fund its spending, borrowing rates […]
Canadian politicians promise to “fix” housing affordability if elected this year. Just one problem — all of their plans will increase home prices, not make them more affordable. That’s the take from Finder‘s 15-person monetary policy panel. The Fintech regularly polls Canada’s top economists for their take on monetary policy. This time they asked for […]
The Canadian economy still has a long way to go before it’s recovered — possibly further than thought. RBC economist Josh Nye said today’s Bank of Canada (BoC) rate decision was widely expected. The central bank made no changes, reiterating the importance of quantitative ease (QE). Canada’s largest bank sees a risk of QE tapering […]
Canada’s household savings rate soared, as generous benefits met few places to spend. At least, that was the narrative. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) data shows most households saved very little in 2020. The top two-fifths of incomes are responsible for Canada’s elevated savings rate. The bottom two-fifths of households didn’t save anything at all, but […]
