Canadian Mortgage Trends

1 day ago | canadianmortgagetrends.com | Jared Lindzon

The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) first floated the idea of switching from its current “stress test” requirements — which limit borrowers to a minimum qualifying rate (MQR) of 5.25% or 2% above the borrower’s contract rate, whichever is higher — to something directly tied to income back in January of 2023. At the time, the proposal came alongside a pair of others related to debt service coverage restrictions and an interest rate affordability test.

2 days ago | canadianmortgagetrends.com | Brett Surbey

Following the release, bond yields rose slightly as investors scaled back expectations of a July rate cut from the Bank of Canada. Employment rose by just 8,800 in May, according to Statistics Canada’s latest labour force survey, as a gain of 58,000 full-time jobs was mostly offset by the loss of 49,000 part-time positions. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate ticked up 0.1 percentage points to 7%.

6 days ago | canadianmortgagetrends.com | Jared Lindzon

Canada’s GDP grew at an annualized rate of 2.2% in the first quarter of the year, matching the last quarter of 2024 and defying expectations of a tariff-driven economic stall. According to Statistics Canada, the increase was driven by a rise in both imports and exports, especially of tariff-affected products, like cars, oil and gas, industrial machinery, equipment and parts.

1 week ago | canadianmortgagetrends.com | Brett Surbey

Canada’s economy grew at an annualized pace of 2.2% in the first quarter of 2025, outpacing expectations and matching the growth rate from Q4 2024. On a quarterly basis, real GDP rose 0.5%, while per capita GDP climbed 0.4%, building on a modest 0.1% gain in the previous quarter. The quarterly gain was largely driven by growth in total exports (+1.6%) and the buildup of business non-farm inventories, according to the agency.

1 week ago | canadianmortgagetrends.com | Steve Huebl

Personal mortgage volumes rose 4% year-over-year, excluding the CWB acquisition, with growth expected to continue at a similar pace in the second half of 2025, the bank said on its earnings call Wednesday. The bank noted that origination volumes remained strong, even as deposit pricing became more competitive. Executive Vice-President Lucie Blanchet said mortgage spreads were neutral sequentially as strong volumes and renewals offset pricing pressure, particularly in the broker channel.