Significant recovery in the national housing market has helped boost borrowing activity during the second quarter, Home Capital Group CEO Yousry Bissada said.
The lenders Q2 2019 mortgage originations went up to $1.28 billion, from the $1.23 billion level during the same period last year. Vigor was especially apparent in single-family originations, which increased by more than 10% annually, “with particular strength in our alternative mortgage segment.”
Total Q2 loans were at $16.84 billion, growing by 1% quarter-over-quarter and 9% annually.
“We’re pleased with our results because they’re beginning to reflect the impact of some initiatives that we at Home Capital have been working very hard at for the past few quarters,” Bissada said, as quoted by the Financial Post.
“Our focus on lending to the high-quality market segments we have targeted, primarily the business for self-borrower and the new Canadian, is producing good results.”
The Greater Toronto Area has fed much of this recovery, Bissada told analysts last week.
“Sales activity is picking up, with particular strength in the GTA,” he stated. “The latest data on economic growth, employment and interest rate expectations are consistent with our outlook for a stable and balanced real estate market for the rest of 2019.”
Indeed, latest figures from the Toronto Real Estate Board showed that sales activity in the region intensified by 24.3% year-over-year last month.
This will more than make up for some slight weakness in BC, Bissada assured. “The Company does not expect the recent decline in prices and sales volume in the Vancouver real estate market to have a material impact on the Company’s business.”
Ephraim is currently a journalist at Mortgage Broker News, Real Estate Professional and Canadian Real Estate Wealth.
Ephraim is a highly accomplished news reporter whose work has been published across North America and the Asia Pacific region. Before joining Key Media, Ephraim spent eight years working as a journalist with Reuters TV. His areas of expertise include real estate, mortgage, and finance.
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