Alberta Experiences Growth In CMHC-Insured Mortgage Arrears By Over 50%

52 percent increase in the number of insured home loans in arrears in Alberta was reported by Canada’s mortgage insurance agency, as low oil prices wane the provincial economy.

According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, in its second-quarter report, payments on 1,487 mortgages in Alberta were three months or more outstanding, commencing on June 30^th, an increase from 978 the same time in 2015.

Also, Saskatchewan’s list of unsettled mortgages went up to 529 from 392 within the same period.

The figures are totally different from those in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec, which all reported hundreds of fewer loans in arrears in the same period.

Ontario’s rate of unsettled loans is the lowest in the country, at less than a fifth of a percentage point. Alberta, however, is at 0.41 percent while Saskatchewan’s is at 0.69 percent.

CMHC stated that its Canadian arrears rate fell marginally over the year yet remains at about one-third of one percent of its portfolio.

The national agency announced that it had provided mortgage insurance for about 135,000 units nationally in the three months that ended June 30^th, an increase of 11 percent from the same time last year.