Mortgage Interest Costs Are Climbing Again, StatCan Says

Interest paid on mortgages and consumer credit grew at its fastest pace since 2024 last quarter, StatCan says, ending two years of falling borrowing costs.

Statistics Canada's second quarter national accounts release, published August 28, carried two numbers that touch anyone carrying a mortgage or watching the GTA resale market: household interest costs grew at their fastest pace in two years, and residential investment turned up again after two straight quarterly declines.

Why did mortgage interest costs jump this quarter?

Interest on both mortgage and consumer credit grew at the fastest pace since the second quarter of 2024 in the three months to June 30, according to Statistics Canada's national accounts release. That reverses what had been a run of declining household interest expenses, as borrowers who renewed into higher rates, or carry variable rate debt, paid more in interest even without a new Bank of Canada rate decision behind it.

Statistics Canada does not publish an interest rate in this release. What it reports is dollars actually paid on mortgage and consumer debt, added up across the country, and that number moved higher for the first time in two years. If you are on a variable rate mortgage, or you renewed in the past year, this is a national number that lines up with what a lot of households are already seeing on their own statements.

Is the GTA resale market actually picking up?

On this one number, yes. Residential investment across Canada rose 2.5 per cent in the second quarter, the first increase after two consecutive quarterly declines. Statistics Canada specifically flagged that ownership transfer costs, the part of the number that tracks resale activity such as commissions and legal fees, rose the most in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia. New construction activity also rose, though that part was led by apartment building in British Columbia rather than Ontario.

This is a national figure, not a Toronto or GTA specific one, and Statistics Canada does not break the resale portion out by city. What it tells us is that resale transaction activity nationally, weighted toward these three provinces, added to the economy again after shrinking for six straight months. It is one quarter, not a trend line, and Statistics Canada will not confirm whether it holds until the next release.

What should this change about your plans?

Nothing needs to change today, but two things are worth doing. If you are within a year of a mortgage renewal, ask your lender or broker for your actual numbers now rather than waiting for the renewal letter, since the interest trend behind that letter has just shown its first move against what had been two years of falling household borrowing costs. And if you have been waiting for resale activity to slow down before listing, this release does not show that happening, at least not by this national measure.

Our own affordability calculator uses the same debt service ratios lenders apply, so you can see where your numbers sit before a renewal conversation rather than after one. If you are weighing a sale into this market, our net proceeds calculator shows what you would actually walk away with once commission, HST and your mortgage payout come off the top.