Younger buyers may be rushing into homeownership unprepared, credit professionals saysakchai vongsasiripat/iStockPhoto / Getty Images
Young Canadians aged 30 and under are failing to make payments on their mortgages at a rate seven times higher than the rest of the population, according to the latest data from the credit agency TransUnion.
The report, which analyzed credit trends for young consumers in the first quarter of 2025, found 29-year-olds and 30-year-olds had the worst mortgage delinquency rates at 1 per cent and 1.1 per cent, respectively – nearly 10 times the average national rate of 0.12 per cent. The average delinquency rate of mortgage holders between 18 and 30 was 0.84 per cent.
Matt Fabian, director of financial services research and consulting at TransUnion, said the delinquency rates are for super-prime mortgage holders with credit ratings above 800 – a level that is considered to reflect an excellent debt-payment record – and the rates increase for consumers who have worse credit or who can only access more expensive sub-prime mortgages.
It’s more evidence that the current period of renewals, which follows a pandemic-era rush to buy housing five years ago amid lower interest rates, is taking a toll on Canadian homeowners. In May, an Equifax report found that the severe delinquency rate – which is when consumers have missed payments for more than 90 days – was 0.24 per cent in the first quarter of 2025. That’s a 72-per-cent increase from the same period in 2024.
TransUnion and other credit professionals said young Canadians are missing mortgage payments more often than others because they don’t have the savings built up to protect them from unexpected costs of home ownership. Another reason is that elevated interest rates have led to drastically higher monthly payments.
“Younger people run out of runway really quickly,” said Mr. Fabian, who added that younger buyers may be rushing into homeownership unprepared.
“We know in talking to the lenders that a lot of the deposits are funded by parents, so that initial gate to get the mortgage is cleared, but they don’t account for the ongoing costs in addition to just your mortgage.”
Bruce Sellery, chief executive of Credit Canada, a not-for-profit that helps people recover from severe debt, said that a relatively small number of people face this issue, but it is alarming that roughly 1 per cent of 29- and 30-year-olds have been delinquent on their mortgages.
“Looking at labour market stats, unemployment is highest for people under the age of 30,” said Mr. Sellery, who added he believed that to be a factor because people tend to miss mortgage payments during financial calamities, such as when they lose their job.
He also noted that younger people are likely to own condos, which have seen a sharp drop in value and demand in major Canadian cities. That means they don’t have the same option to sell to stay out of debt.
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Calgary-area mortgage broker Joe Jacobs said he talks more about debt management with his clients than he ever has in his 21 years in the profession.
Increasingly, his clients are opting to extend the amortization of their mortgages or consolidate their debts to provide some relief from increasing rates.
He said many young clients who struggle with renewals do so because they went further into debt to maintain their home, furnish it or to buy a car.
Mr. Jacobs also said that while a $400 payment increase might not be drastic, it’s enough to send homeowners over the edge when the cost of everything else has increased.
“It’s not just the mortgage itself that’s the issue. It’s a layered effect of the cost of living,” he said.
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Bridget van Wyk, partner and national practice leader at Farber, a licensed insolvency trustee (LIT), said that while her practice isn’t seeing a large number of young clients come for help on their mortgages yet, that’s likely because they’re relying on higher interest forms of debt such as sub-prime or payday loans with massive interest rates to put off the problem.
She said there is often a stigma related to seeking help from debt-help professionals like LITs, which are mandated to either help their clients or point them in the right direction.
She said anyone who has missed a payment on their mortgage should be talking to a professional like an LIT to at least assess their options moving forward.
“My message to young people is find out what your options are before it gets too far and you’re in a more challenging situation than you would have been,” said Ms. van Wyk.
