Canadian Mortgage Arrears Hit Recession Levels, Reality Is Likely Worse

Even more households are falling behind on their supersized mortgage payments. Canadian Bankers Association (CBA) data shows the mortgage arrears rate climbed in May. Mortgages at least 90 days past due have more than doubled since 2022, pushing the rate just shy of a decade high. New mortgage originations are also failing to offset outflows, already wiping out most of 2020’s low-rate growth. Canadian Mortgage Arrears Rate Nears 10-Year High Canadian bank mortgage arrears rate: share of mortgages at least 90 days past due. Source: CBA; Better Dwelling. The mortgage arrears rate inched 1 basis point (bp) higher to 0.29% in May, adding 7 bps since last year. Since hitting a record low of 0.14% in 2022, the rate has more than doubled to its highest level since August 2016. Unlike the anomaly in 2016, which only lasted one month before trending lower, the current rate is steadily climbing. Canadian Bank Mortgages Hit Recession Levels Canadian bank mortgages in arrears: the number of mortgages at least 90 days past due. Source: CBA; Better Dwelling. The mortgage arrears count rose 2.3% to 14,061 in May, up 27.2% from last year and the most since 2014. However, annual growth is the detai...