26 September 2018

“I’ve been working in this area for 15 years and I see how many borrowers get such credit lines for emergency purposes or renovations. But even if they actually qualify for it, they still tend to not pay it down properly”, – he noted.

“At the beginning people with HELOCs have nothing advanced, but by the end of a five years term they already have $30,000 or $50,0000 or $100,000 advanced, and all they do is just pay off the interests.”

Atlantic Canada’s inexpensive real estate market reported the lowest average credit balance in the country. The region has 7.7% of Canadian HELOC holders, and their debt accounts to 3.9% of national HELOC.

The report says mortgages include 66% of all outstanding household debt, and HELOC number is 11%. In other words, housing backs more than three quarters of the overall household debt.