The average payment on mortgages and home-equity lines of credit (HELOCs) soared across the country’s largest housing markets, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) Q3 2018 numbers.
Toronto households with a mortgage were paying an average of $1,710, up by 5.95% from a year before. Vancouver, the country’s most expensive market, climbed to $1,734, up by 6.34%. Montreal, which is now outperforming the two in price growth but lagged for many years prior, increased to $1,081, up by 3.44%.
Higher payments may be putting a drag on homeownership, as the ratio of households with a mortgage began falling. Toronto’s share dropped to 25%, down by 3.84% from a year before. Vancouver declined to 27%, down by 3.57%, while Montreal made no movement from 29%.
The average HELOC payment soared even higher than mortgages. Toronto rose to $583, up by 19.47% from a year before, while Vancouver reached $652, up by 15.19%. Montreal topped out both cities with $680, up by 20.57%. Payments went up by almost a fifth in just one year, which is a huge increase.
While Toronto and Vancouver property prices are down, rising rates pushed payments higher. But payments are still larger and experiencing much higher growth in Montreal, according to a Better Dwelling report.
