Examining the Canadian Housing Economy

Because the mainstream media can often mislead borrowers with its doom-and-gloom headlines regarding the Canadian housing and mortgage industries, as well as consumer debt, it’s important to get the facts straight from the mortgage brokering industry.

The Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals (CAAMP) released a new report in mid-February on employment impacts of housing and related mortgage activity that describes the impact of jobs in Canada related to the housing and mortgage sector.

The Canadian housing economy is safe and stable. At the peak of the US housing boom, approximately 20% to 25% of all US housing sales were for investment purposes. In contrast, CAAMP estimates that only 2% to 3% of Canadian home sales nationally are investment properties. The reason why this is important is that lenders assume borrowers will pay the mortgage on their primary residence ahead of any investment properties.

The latest CAAMP report also shows that home equity is growing rapidly, and Canadian mortgage holders are repaying their mortgages more quickly than is required. This is great news as, not only are Canadians paying less overall interest throughout their courses as mortgage holders, but they’re also becoming mortgage-free faster as a direct result.

The biggest threat to the health of the Canadian housing and mortgage industry is a recession that results in job losses. The best way to

support the housing and mortgage industry, and to sustain its positive impact, is to pursue policies that continue to create jobs.

At the same time, it’s important that qualified buyers have choice when seeking mortgages to finance or refinance their homes. The mortgage brokering industry offers more choice to borrowers than any other channel – including bank branches and bank mobile mortgage specialists – as brokers have access to multiple lenders (banks, credit unions, trust companies, etc) and can truly match each borrower with the ideal mortgage product and rate catered to their unique needs.

Housing sector major economic driver
There’s no doubt that the Canadian housing sector is a significant economic driver for our country. In fact, housing and mortgage activities create significant employment in Canada. They could account for more than 1.35 million direct and indirect jobs (about 8% of total Canadian employment).

The housing and mortgage industry has been particularly important to job creation over the past five years. From 2006 to 2011, it’s estimated that 18% of all job creation occurred as a direct and indirect result of growth in the housing and mortgage sector.

Rising home values lead to greater consumer spending and, therefore, a stronger economy. CAAMP estimates that rising home values from 2006 to 2011 have led to $17 billion in additional economic activity, or about 1.2% of total gross domestic product (GDP) in Canada.

Click here to read the entire CAAMP report.

 From:   Sandi & Heather, AMP Mortgage Specialists

           Dominion Lending Centres West Coast Mortgages

           Phone: 604.805.2080   sandiandheather@dominionlending.ca    http://www.greatratescanada.com/