06:46 AM EDT, 09/20/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Thursday's latest monthly household credit figures in Canada

show continued calm, said Bank of Montreal (BMO).

Overall credit rose a "mild" 3.6% year over year, while mortgage growth is "amazingly stable" at just a tick lower at 3.5%, noted the bank.

Rare has been the day that growth has been both this calm -- it has been locked in a range just below 4% for two years now -- and this mild -- it hasn't been this slow in more than two decades, stated BMO.

After running far above inflation for 20 years, it's basically been in line with price gains recently, pointed out the bank.

However, this becalmed situation may change in 2025, added BMO.

The combination of falling interest rates and the new mortgage rules could firm the housing market, in turn juicing mortgage growth. At this point, BMO isn't expecting a big run-up in mortgage balances in 2025, but they do seem poised to turn higher.

That's a very different picture than the so-called mortgage cliff many were previously fretting over, according to the bank.