If we assume people are capable of making rational decisions and participate in a free market, then they absolutely are to blame for taking on ridiculous debt loads. If we assume the opposite, then their actions were the product of the environment. We seem to want to have it both ways. We want people to be free to do whatever they want without (government) intervention when the number's going up. For example people were really opposed to the introduction of the mortgage stess test. On the other hand we want to absolve people from responsibility and defer to the environment when the number is going down and they're suffering post their earlier decisions. "Why didn't someone do something about X, Y or Z which we perceive is the reason of our suffering."

Personally I do think people's actions are a lot more a product of the environment than anything else. If you ask me, most people shouldn't need to participate in asset markets to have a place to live or have income during retirement. They simply can't compete. But many fellow Canadians don't feel this way, especially when the number goes up. And so we are where we are. 🥲

They did this trick in america in 2000s, Canada mostly avoided that fuxkenin

Looks like they are gonna get y'all now.

Buying into a bubble doesn't make people a victim. Risk was taken and those who were not properly prepared will be fucked.

This is a classic FAFO situation.

With that being said, yeah, big picture all working people getting fucked.

The banks have started doing "infinity mortgages", in which the lendee only pays the interest and never the principle because of how the interest rats have gone. CTV News did a little primer on infinity mortgages,

When you boil an infinity mortgage down, it sounds like renting since there is no prospect of paying off the principal. Are infinity mortgages here to stay? I don't know, I do know I won't have shocked pickachu face when they stay a fixture of the Canadian mortgage market.

Maybe they will do that, maybe it will work. But if they are doing this, i doubt home prices will keep going up. They need low benchmark interest rates to justify current prices.