• Unlike in the U.S., underwriting standards for qualifying mortgage borrowers in Canada have been maintained at prudent levels resulting in mortgage borrowers here being much more creditworthy; • Canadian mortgage lenders never offered low initial «teaser» rate mortgages that led to most of the difficulties for mortgage borrowers in the U.S.; • Most mortgages in Canada are
held by their original lender, not packaged and sold to third parties as is typical in the U.S., and consequently, Canadian mortgage lenders have a vested interest in ensuring that their mortgage borrowers are creditworthy and not likely to default; • Only 0.3 % of Canadian mortgages are in arrears versus 4.5 % in the U.S. and what even before the start of the U.S. housing meltdown two years ago was 2 %; • Canadians tend to pay down their mortgage faster than in the U.S. where mortgage interest is deductible from taxes, which encourages U.S.
homeowners to take equity out of their homes to finance other spending, a difference that is reflected in the fact that in Canada mortgage
debt accounts for just over 30 % of the value of homes, compared with 55 % in the U.S.
But there are other types of
debt in the equation too: Colorado
homeowners with mortgages carried an average balance of $ 230,142 while those residents
holding student, car, and other consumer loans were in
debt to the tune of $ 41,770 on average.