May 26th, 2026 Mortgage Industry Update
The Bank of Canada announced on April 29th that its overnight rate will remain at 2.25%. The evolving conflict in the Middle East is causing heightened volatility and US trade policy continues to reshape global trade patterns. Financial conditions remain volatile. The prime rate remains 4.45%.
Additionally this week:
– CMHC: Canada’s residential mortgage debt climbed above $2.4 trillion at the start of 2026. Up 4.8% yearly in January. National rate of mortgages in arrears for 90 days or more increased to 0.24% in Q4 2025, up from 0.21%. Mortgage delinquencies in Ontario rose 35% yearly to 0.27%
– CREA: April home sales totalled 42,927, down 4% from 44,698 in 2025. Remain about 10% below normal April levels. National average sale price was $695,412, up 2.2%. New listings up 4.1% monthly. Total of 187,647 properties listed for sale, up 2.2% from a year earlier.
– CMHC’s latest Residential Mortgage Industry Report: By February 2026, variable-rate mortgages accounted for 42% of extended mortgages at chartered banks, making them most popular option among borrowers. Meanwhile, just 11% of borrowers chose a traditional 5-year fixed mortgage.
– Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy: 37,121 Canadians filed a consumer insolvency in Q1 2026. That’s an 8.5% increase from the same period last year and 6.5% higher than the previous quarter. On average, roughly 17 Canadians filed for insolvency every hour during quarter.
– Urbanation: Average national asking rents have fallen back to similar levels from 3 years ago as April marked 19th consecutive yearly drop. Prices reached avg of $2,027, down 4.7% from 2025. However, up 0.9% monthly. Still 21.9% higher than pandemic-era low recorded in Apr 2021.
– Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey for April 2026: Youth unemployment rate — covering Canadians aged 15 to 24 — climbing to 14.3%, up half a percentage point from March. Figure sits roughly a third higher than the pre-pandemic average of 10.8% recorded between 2017 and 2019.
– TRREB: Total of 1,553 condos sold across GTA in April. Averaged $635,653, up 2.4% monthly, down 6.3% yearly. 416 accounted for 68% of all transactions with 1,054 sales (up 14.4% yearly) at an average of $665,507 (6.4% annual decline). In 905 average prices at $572,594, down 7.5%.
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.
