April 14th, 2026 Mortgage Industry Update
The Bank of Canada announced on March 18th that its overnight rate will remain at 2.25%. The war in the Middle East has increased volatility in global energy prices and financial markets, and heightened the risks to the global economy. There remains high uncertainty. The prime rate remains 4.45%.
Additionally this week:
– Statistics Canada: Trade deficit widened to $5.7 billion in February − the largest shortfall since August. Trade activity rose significantly as imports and exports grew by 8.4% and 6.4% respectively. In volume terms, total imports rose 7.1% while total exports increased 4.8%.
– Banks are seeing an unusually sharp uptick in mortgage stress across Ontario. They held over 6,223 delinquent mortgages in January, up 47.7% from last year and 5x their pandemic lows. Canadian banks haven’t seen this volume of delinquencies since 2011—15 years ago.
– City of Toronto: 95% of property owners have already submitted their 2025 Vacant Home Tax declarations. This tax first came into effect in 2022. Since then, the number of vacant properties has decreased from 6,944 in 2022 to 5,989 in 2024.
– Statistics Canada: National economy barely grew in January. Real GDP edged up 0.1% month over month (a tick above the consensus expectation), after 0.2% in December, with an advance estimate pointing to 0.2% in February.
– Mark Carney, Doug Ford joined Olivia Chow to unveil plan for province and federal government to each spend $4.4B on housing-related infrastructure in the province over the next 10 years. Meant to help municipalities cut development charges by as much as 50% for next three years.
– FP Canada’s 2026 Financial Stress Index: The share who named rising home prices as a major worry rose to 25%, up from 20% three years earlier, even as broader inflation concerns eased.
– BILD: 531 new home sales in February – up 16% annually, but 76% below 10-year average for GTA. 171 units sold for new condos, down 2% yearly, 88% below 10-year average. Single-family homes performed better with 360 sales, an increase of 27% yearly, but 57% below 10-year average.
Stay tuned for the next update!
For any questions and concerns please do not hesitate to call Harpreet Singh The Mortgage King at (416) 795-1919.
