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With housing prices to income levels running 35% above historic norms, Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of Canada, had some words of advice to heavily indebted households, telling them Tuesday to use “prudence and caution” because borrowing costs can only go up.

‘Household spending is expected to remain high relative to GDP as households add to their debt burden, which remains the biggest domestic risk’

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Speaking to the House of Commons finance committee one week after the central bank again held its key interest rate at a near-record low of 1%, Mr. Carney said “mortgage rates are extremely attractive and that accounts for some of the move-up in [housing] valuation.”

But he added that consumers cannot rely on lending costs “staying there forever.”

Mr. Carney said when it comes to household debt “the message is one of prudence and caution,” adding that the average home price in Canada is about 4.75 times people’s income, while the historic average is closer to 3.5.