Higher interest rates are weighing down on sentiment
Canadian homeowners are continuing to express concern about their ability to meet their mortgage payments, according to a new report by RATESDOTCA.
The new survey found that 35% of homeowners were concerned about not being able to pay their mortgages over the next three years. While 51% of these respondents were younger than 55, there were 59% of respondents said they were not concerned about such payments. About 72% of these respondents were older than 55.
Minorities (53%) were more likely to be concerned about their ability to pay their mortgages compared to respondents that were non-visible minority (32%). The report said that this difference was caused by visible minorities having less income on average compared to other Canadians.
Out of all the regions, people residing in Quebec were the most confident in their ability to pay their mortgages with 71% saying that they were not concerned about meeting mortgage obligations. This comes with the findings that Quebec had lower average home prices and childcare costs which may be a reason behind residents’ higher level of confidence.
Among those who expressed a lack of confidence regarding their financial future, 31% stated that inadequate income was a big factor. Nearly half of respondents said their current financial situations lacked stability as they could only afford $500 or less for extra monthly costs such as home repairs.
There were also 11%% of homeowners who said that they could not afford their monthly expenses and were currently using their savings or credit to pay for their needs. This included 6% of respondents who were entirely or partially relying on credit to pay for their expenses.
RatesDotCA commissioned Leger to conduct the survey.
