St. John’s was a notable exception, however
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Atlantic Canada is currently seeing some of the country’s lowest mortgage delinquency rates, according to the latest edition of the CMHC’s Mortgage and Consumer Credit Trends report.
The study, which looked at market conditions as of Q3 2018, found that Halifax – with a delinquency rate below 0.5% – is especially benefiting from the trend. This is mainly due to stronger economic conditions brought about by greater full-time employment in all age cohorts.
Additionally, “with strong resale demand throughout 2018 and new listings remaining low, the amount of time a home spent on the market has been declining across all Halifax submarkets. For those homeowners who may have fallen into delinquency, these market conditions may have been additionally favourable,” the report noted.
Read more: CMHC issues warning to Canadians
Moncton also saw delinquencies for both mortgage holders and non-mortgage holders fall in Q3 2018, although “delinquency rates continue to remain higher for non-mortgage holders compared to mortgage holders.
The CMA enjoyed “strengthening employment levels in 2018, especially in full time jobs and the young adult population has likely contributed to greater financial stability, supporting lower mortgage delinquency rates.”
The only major market in the region to buck the trend was St. John’s, with the area’s mortgage delinquency rates having steadily risen since 2014. Q3 2018 saw this metric in St. John’s increasing across all age cohorts year-over-year.
Delinquencies for rates for lines of credit and auto loans also went up, although still below 1%.
