Canadians Keep Using Their Homes as ATMs Even as Market Swoons

Canadians are ramping up borrowing against their homes even as the real estate market slumps, exposing the country’s financial system to vulnerabilities, rating company DBRS said.

Home equity lines of credit, or Helocs, reached a record C$243 billion ($184.5 billion) as of Oct. 31, or 11.3 percent of total household credit, the highest share since mid-2015, analysts including Robert Colangelo said in a report Thursday. Borrowing to fund everything from home renovations to car purchases has grown faster than residential mortgages since 2017, and undrawn commitments at the large Canadian banks stood at C$120 billion.