As rates rise, household borrowing grows too

Total household borrowing grew by 0.7% in April to more than $2.7 trillion, according to Statistics Canada.

The national statistical agency reported that mortgage debt topped the $2-trillion mark as it grew by $13.5 billion, up by 0.7% from March. This marked a slight deceleration from the 0.8% average increase recorded over the previous three months, StatsCan said.

Other kinds of debt, including credit cards and home equity lines of credit (HELOCs), also grew at about 0.7% in April to $705.4 billion, the agency reported.

StatsCan said that credit card debt with banks rose by 2.8% in April, alongside rising retail sales. HELOCs grew by 0.9% to $160.8 billion.

The growth in household debt came as borrowing costs also rose, with the Bank of Canada raising its interest rate to 1.0% in April, and government bond yields continuing to rise too, the agency noted.

Overall, household borrowing came in at $2.7 trillion in April, with $2.2 trillion of that backed by real estate (both mortgage debt and HELOCs).

As borrowing costs rose, there were signs of cooling in the housing market, with the volume of existing home sales and average sale prices declining. Prices for new homes continued to rise, but the rate of growth slowed from 1.1% in the first quarter to 0.3% in April.

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.