Mortgage delinquency rates low in Toronto, Vancouver despite high prices: CMHC

Mortgage delinquency rates were low in Toronto and Vancouver during the fourth quarter of 2016, despite hot housing markets that have sent prices soaring, according to a new report from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation that examines consumer mortgage credit data.

The delinquency ratein Toronto was just 0.12 per cent, and 0.15 per cent in Vancouver, compared to a national average of 0.34 per cent.

At the same time, mortgage delinquency rates were above the national average in Prairie cities hit hardest by the slump in resource prices, including Calgary (0.35 per cent), Edmonton (0.52 per cent), Regina (0.47 per cent), and Saskatoon (0.51 per cent).

Agroup of East Coast cities also had above-average mortgage delinquency rates during the fourth quarter: Charlottetown (0.55 per cent),Halifax(0.54 per cent) andMoncton, N.B. (0.71 per cent).

Saint John, N.B., had the highest delinquency rate of any Canadian metropolitan areaduring the quarter, at 0.86 per cent.Guelph, Ont., had the lowest rate of mortgage delinquencies, at just 0.1 per cent.

The 0.34 per cent national averagedelinquencyrate for the end of 2016 was little changed from the 0.35 per cent rate observed at the end of 2015 and the end of 2014.

What Canadians pay for their mortgages

At the end of 2016, the average scheduled monthly payment for a new mortgage was $1,328, according to CMHC. Torontonians paid $1,826, while the average monthly payment for Vancouverites was $1,936.

Provincially, average scheduled monthly mortgages payments broke down as follows, from highest to lowest:

• British Columbia: $1,664
• Ontario: $1,486
• Alberta: $1,449
• Saskatchewan: $1,253
• Manitoba: $1,059
• Newfoundland: $1,056
• Nova Scotia: $961
• Quebec: $918
• Prince Edward Island: $837
• New Brunswick: $811

Nearly 29 per cent of Canadian consumers had a mortgage at the end of 2016, the CMHC report said.

The "Homeowners' Debt at a Glance" report is a new product from Canada's federal housing agency, and uses Equifax Canada data that covers about 85 per cent of Canada's mortgage market.

CMHC is attempting to address gaps in available data about Canada's housing market, as policymakers express growing concern over high levels of household debt in Canada.