Highlights from CAAMP's report

CAAMP released its spring consumer report Thursday, which paints an optimistic picture of the current housing market; especially in the eyes of home buyers.

CAAMP released its spring consumer report Thursday, which paints an optimistic picture of the current housing market; especially in the eyes of home buyers.

“From the consumer perspective we have a picture of a very confident, healthy mortgage market. Key to the current stability in the mortgage market is the fact that Canadians continue to pay down their mortgage debt faster than they are required and they continue to take out five-year, fixed rate mortgages,” Jim Murphy, president and CEO of CAAMP said in the official release. “Canadians who renew their mortgages are seeing their interest costs reduced, which is boosting their personal financial circumstances, and this will continue to be a positive force during the coming year.”

CAAMP crunched the numbers and what follows is a highlight of some of the national organization’s findings.
  • There are currently 9.55 million homeowners in Canada
  • 2.2 million homeowners have HELOCs
  • 3.95 million homeowners have paid off their mortgage
  • Fixed-rate mortgages accounted for 74 per cent of all mortgages in 2013
  • 1/5 of mortgages have a variable or adjustable rate
  • 6 per cent of mortgages are a combination of the two
  • 92 per cent of homeowners have an amortization period of 25 years or less
  • 47 per cent of mortgages were originated from a bank
  • 39 per cent were originated from a mortgage broker
  • The average interest rate was 3.24 per cent, down from 3.5 per cent in CAAMP’s fall 2013 survey
  • Home equity is equivalent to 73 per cent of the value of the homes, on average
  • Total outstanding moretgage credit is expected to reach $1.34 trillion by the end of 2015