Rates.ca commissioned Leger to survey Canadians who renewed their mortgages between January and late July. The results show that 82 per cent of those borrowers faced higher borrowing costs, with most seeing their rates climb between two and 4.99 percentage points.
The financial strain is acute. Nearly half of renewing households report that mortgage payments now consume 50 per cent or more of their total budget. That figure is well above the 30 to 32 per cent threshold that Royal Bank of Canada and other lenders cite as the upper limit for housing costs, including property taxes, heating and condo fees.
Younger and foreign-born owners hit hardest
The pain is not distributed evenly. Nine in ten homeowners aged 18 to 34 renewed at a higher rate, and 56 per cent of that group say housing now claims 50 to 70 per cent of their household budget. Foreign-born homeowners reported a similar burden, with 50 to 70 per cent of income going to housing, compared with 35 per cent for Canadian-born owners.
"These findings show just how little financial flexibility some homeowners have after renewing," said Victor Tran, mortgage and real estate expert at Rates.ca. "When half or more of a household's monthly budget is going toward the mortgage, there's much less room to absorb other expenses or an unexpected financial setback."
Term choices and timing
The survey also captured how borrowers are structuring their new loans. Four in ten chose a five-year fixed term, while 35 per cent opted for three years. Only seven per cent locked in for longer than five years.
Tran advises borrowers to begin comparing options at least 120 days before their renewal date. That window allows time to negotiate the rate, term, amortization and prepayment features that best match a household's cash flow.
The polling was conducted online from July 24 to 26 and reflects responses from Canadians who had already renewed in 2024. The country is in the early stages of its largest ever wave of mortgage renewals, a cycle that will continue through 2026.
Based on reporting by Global News.