Here's how much the average Toronto homeowner has in debt

Sep 9 2021, 3:29 pm

With Toronto housing prices soaring sky-high over the past year, the average homeowner in the city has an equally high amount of debt to match.

A new report from fintech company Borrowell reveals that Toronto homeowners now have, on average, a whopping $608,296 in debt. This is the second highest of any city in the country, just behind Vancouver’s $629,803.

Not too surprisingly, the vast majority of money owed is in the form of mortgages. In Toronto, this breaks down to $574,246 in mortgage debt and $17,537 in non-mortgage debt.

For those who don’t own a home, their debt averages out to $34,050.

Interestingly, the report found that those who don’t own homes were actually more likely to miss bill payments, with 11 out of every 100 non-homeowners missing a payment compared to just 3 out of every 100 homeowners.

toronto homeowner debt

Borrowell

Even with those numbers, Toronto had a lower missed bill payment rate than the national average of approximately 23 out of 100 for non-homeowners and 11 out of 100 for homeowners.

“It’s clear why the rising cost of living is the number one issue for Canadians leading up to this election, with many communities across the country facing significant strain,” said Andrew Graham, co-founder and CEO of Borrowell.

“One in every five Canadians on average has at least one missed bill payment. Every bill payment matters, and one delinquent bill can be the difference between being approved or denied for additional credit.”

Despite Toronto and Vancouver both having missed payment rates lower than the national average, Graham says that the significant difference between missed bill payment rates for homeowners and non-homeowners in these cities illustrates the challenges facings Canadians in the rental market.

“High rental prices and a hot housing market are making it extremely difficult for those in Vancouver, Toronto, and other major cities to get their foot in the housing market and safely obtain some form of financial stability,” Graham said.

Laura HanrahanLaura Hanrahan

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