OTTAWA — Statistics Canada says Canadian households added a record amount to mortgage debt for the second quarter in a row amid low interest rates and high housing prices.
The agency says hot real estate markets in many regions helped propel house prices higher, pushing demand for mortgage loans to $34.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Statistics Canada says that beat the previous high set in the third quarter of $28.7 billion.
The federal agency says the growth in the value of real estate also pushed the net worth of homeowners higher.
The latest national balance sheet figures from StatsCan showed Canadians are continuing on a streak of strong savings, marking the third consecutive quarter of double-digit savings rates.
The agency says the increase in financial wealth helped the Canadian stock markets recoup their losses from the market panic earlier in 2020, as Canadians looked for places to keep their excess savings.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 12, 2021