Merrill Lynch cautions

Merrill Lynch cautions against being deceived by the apparent similarities between Canada's housing market now and the U.S. before its crash. Subprime lending accounts for less than 10% of the Canadian mortgage market, unlike that 20% in the U.S. prior to the crisis. Share of total mortgages that are delinquent for three or more months is a miniscule 0.3% in Canada, much lower than the U.S. pre-crisis figure of 2%. "Furthermore, Canadian borrowers aren't squeaking by with monthly payments," Merrill says. A whopping 38% of households surveyed by a mortgage industry umbrella group engaged in some action in the past year to pay off their mortgage faster.