Latest in Mortgage News: Housing Affordability Back on the Decline

The National Bank of Canada's latest Housing Affordability report reveals that housing affordability in Canada has worsened due to rising home prices, outpacing income growth and increased mortgage interest rates. Buyers in the country's 10 largest urban markets need just under six years to save up for the minimum down payment. Homeowners in Toronto and Vancouver are using a larger percentage of their income to service their mortgage. Meanwhile, mortgage brokers using Filogix Expert, one of the industry's key deal origination systems, can now request home insurance quotes as an added benefit for their clients. In addition, TransUnion's Credit Industry Indicator (CII) has shown that the pandemic had a pronounced impact on consumer credit health in Canada, with a decrease in both the demand and supply of credit, though conditions had started to improve by April 2021.