Homeowners managing higher mortgage payments despite concerns: survey

TORONTO – As the last wave of mortgage renewals from the era of ultralow interest rates comes, a new survey suggests most homeowners who renewed into higher rates have been managing the increased payments. 

A Royal LePage report estimates that over the next year, the last of the five-year, fixed-payment mortgages obtained during the period of ultralow rates will come up for renewal, representing about 12 per cent of outstanding mortgages in the country. 

The survey suggests 38 per cent of Canadians expect their mortgage to rise upon renewal, a drop from early 2025, when 57 per cent of renewing homeowners expected their payments to rise.

Still, one-third of homeowners said they were feeling anxious about their upcoming renewal.

Phil Soper, chief executive of Royal LePage, said while a higher payment is “absolutely anxiety-provoking,” he said he feels confident those homeowners will be able to transition to a higher mortgage rate, similar to those before them in recent years.

The Bank of Canada has maintained its overnight lending rate at 2.25 per cent since October 2025, higher than its ultralow 0.25 per cent rate during the pandemic, but lower than the five per cent level it hit in 2023.

Among those anticipating a higher monthly payment, 76 per cent said it would place financial strain on their households and more than half said they would reduce discretionary spending to make ends meet, the report found.

However, nearly three-quarters of those with an upcoming renewal said they would not be changing their living arrangements.

The report says mortgage delinquency rates — payments that are 90 days or more overdue — in Canada remain remarkably low compared with other developed countries.

The national mortgage delinquency rate rose to 0.24 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2025 from 0.21 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2024, but remained well below pre-pandemic levels, the report said, citing data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

“There were some market commentators who had predicted that a huge rush on mortgages at very, very low rates would cause a wave of mortgage defaults when people moved into more normal rates,” Soper said.

But he said that never really materialized.

Soper partially credited the mortgage stress test, which examines a homebuyer’s ability to keep up with their monthly payments in the event of rising interest rates. 

Today, mortgage rates at traditional banks sit at around four to five per cent, which Soper called the “normal rate mortgage.”

To help deal with higher monthly payments, the survey found eight per cent of respondents extended their amortization period. 

Six per cent reported missing or deferring a mortgage payment at least once during their current term. Among those who missed a payment, 19 per cent said their mortgage was in arrears for 90 days or more.

The survey was conducted by Burson, using the Leger Opinion online panel. The poll of 1,127 Canadians was done between July 20 and Aug. 6. 

The Canadian Research Insights Council, an industry organization that promotes polling standards, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 19, 2026.