Canadian Mortgage Debt Is Rising, Inventory Falls In top Real Estate Markets

Canadian household debt growth is accelerating once again, but only in one segment. The balance of debt reached $2.27 trillion in December, up 4.2% from last year. Mortgage debt is behind the acceleration, representing $1.63 trillion of the debt – up 4.9% from last year. Consumer debt represents the other $641 billion, up just 2.4% from a year before. When adjusted for inflation, the consumer debt is getting close to zero annual growth. Mortgage debt is entirely responsible for the acceleration of household debt growth. Canada’s First-Time Home Buyer Incentive (FTHBI) is receiving a cool reception. The program delivered just $51.3 million in funds from September 2 to December 9, 2019. Quebec residents made use of it the most, representing $18.74 million of those funds. Alberta had the second largest segment of users, representing $16.30 million of the funds. Just those two provinces represented more than half of all funds disbursed.