Household borrowing
Household mortgage debt increased 0.5% in the month of February, a rise of $9.6 billion from January. The average sale price of existing homes surpassed the $800,000 mark in February, while new home prices in Canada advanced 1.1%, according to the New Housing Price Index. Mortgage debt advanced 10.7% in February, compared with the same month in 2021, as new home prices rose 10.9% over the same period. On a seasonally adjusted basis, household mortgage debt was up 0.7% from January.
Non-mortgage loan debt grew $4.8 billion (+0.7%) in February to reach $704.8 billion, with lines of credit and credit card debt from chartered banks as the main contributors behind the increase. Lines of credit with banks reached $225.3 billion in February, largely attributable to a 1.2% increase in home equity lines of credit. Credit card debt with banks rose 1.8% to $79.9 billion, partially rebounding from the sharp decrease in January.
Overall, the total credit liabilities of households were $2,680.2 billion in February, a $14.4 billion (+0.5%) rise from January. Real estate secured debt, composed of both mortgage debt and home equity lines of credit, was up $11.6 billion (+0.5%) to reach $2,143.9 billion. On a seasonally adjusted basis, total credit liabilities of households expanded 0.7%.
Household sector borrowing is divided into financing in the form of non-mortgage loans (i.e., funds principally for consumption) and mortgage loans (i.e., debt acquired to finance the purchase of a property).
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).