Fewer new mortgages were opened in the second quarter due to rising interest rates and slower income and population growth, according to a study by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC).
The study found that despite the lower number of new mortgages, the total number of active mortgages and their corresponding values rose during the same quarter compared with a year ago.
According to a report by The Canadian Press, CMHC stated that there were 205,000 new mortgages in the second quarter of 2018, lower by 11.9% than the figure from a year ago.
The total number of active mortgage loans, contrastingly, increased by 1.3% to 6 million loans, while the average loan value grew by 3.7% to $205,980.
The country’s total outstanding mortgage balance also rose to $1.23 trillion, up by 5% from the same period in 2017.
Notably, the report showed that the number of delinquent loans dropped to the lowest point since data became available in 2012. The total value of mortgages unpaid for 90 days or more slid by 10.4% year over year, to $2.4 billion.
The low national unemployment rate was identified as one of the factors that moderated the number of mortgages which are left unpaid for 90 days or more.
