The average debt-to-income ratio for Canadians has hit a record high: 145 per cent, according to a report from the Vanier Institute. Home purchase is, arguably, the greatest influence on this number. Historically the cost of a home has equated three times the average Canadian worker’s income after tax. Now that value is about five times the average income earner’s after-tax salary.
Despite this fact, Canadians are still making their mortgage payments. Though the Vanier Institute report states that mortgage arrears are up 50 per cent over last year’s numbers, only 5 in 1,000, or 0.005 per cent, of Canadian mortgagors are more than 90 days late in making their mortgage payments.
Canadians are visibly making efforts not to default on their mortgages. However, they are still accumulating debt in a manner that outpaces their earnings.
