OTTAWA, November 29, 2013 — Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) released today its results for the third quarter of 2013. At the end of the third quarter, CMHC’s total insurance in force was $560 billion; $6 billion lower than the insurance in force at year end 2012. Net income for the three and nine months ended 30 September 2013 was $452 million and $1,276 million respectively, an increase of 20 per cent ($75 million) and 11 per cent ($124 million) when compared to the same periods in 2012. The increase in net income is mainly attributable to lower net claims expense resulting from improving economic conditions.
Total insured volumes ($) for the three months ended 30 September 2013 increased by 11 per cent compared to the same period in 2012. The increase in the third quarter is the result of higher volumes of portfolio insurance and can be attributed to lenders changing the timing of their take-up of the portfolio insurance product in 2013. Given that the 2013 annual portfolio allocation is unchanged from 2012, the year-over-year variability is expected to be minimal.
For the nine months ended 30 September 2013, total insured volumes ($) were 14 per cent lower than the same period in 2012. The year-to-date decline is attributed to the reduced size of the high ratio homeowner mortgage loan insurance market as a result of the new mortgage insurance parameters that took effect in July 2012 and to lower portfolio insurance volumes compared to the same period in 2012.
The average credit score for high ratio homeowner approved loans in the first nine months of 2013 was 741, up from 737 during the same period in 2012. The high average credit score demonstrates a strong ability among homebuyers with CMHC-insured mortgages to manage their debts.
The strength of CMHC’s mortgage insurance portfolio is further demonstrated by the overall arrears rate of 0.33 per cent at September 30, 2013. This is a 0.02-percentage-point improvement compared to the year end 2012 and a 0.01-percentage-point increase compared to the second quarter of 2013.
CMHC works closely with provinces, territories and housing providers, including First Nations, to help low-income Canadians access affordable, better quality housing off- and on-reserve. For the nine months ended 30 September 2013, CMHC provided nearly $1.5 billion for housing programs on behalf of the Government of Canada.
As Canada’s national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 65 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of quality, environmentally sustainable, and affordable housing solutions that will continue to create vibrant and healthy communities and cities across the country.
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