April's total mortgage debt reached $17.7 billion, following a sizeable $12.9 billion increase in March, setting a record for the largest month-over-month increase. Compared with April 2020, Statistics Canada said household mortgage debt in Canada was up 7.8%.

Or will it just hurt first-time buyers even more?

This is a higher rate than during the 2016-2017 real estate boom.

Housing and mortgage-related searches reached record highs over the last year.