To help alleviate the cost of those monthly payments, the share of new mortgages with an amortization longer than 25 years has increased from 34 per cent in 2019 to 46 per cent in 2022.
The bank does not see this as permanent, but as a short-term measure that homeowners are adopting to fight rising interest rates.
“Amortizations are a buffer that households can use if they find their payments go up and squeeze their budgets more than they can deal with,” said Bank of Canada Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers.
Canada has the highest debt in the G7, with household debt representing 187 per cent of net disposable income in 2022, according to figures released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
www.ctvnews.ca/business/bank-of-canada-points-to-household-debt-as-key-risk-in-the-country-s-financial-system-1.6404087
