In general, mortgages have been increasing in the euro area, Japan, and the United Kingdom, whereas such a trend is not yet visible in the United States owing to the deleveraging process in the household sector and tight lending conditions for non-prime individual borrowers (Chart 4).
The recovery should be supported by: •  the timeliness and scale of our monetary policy response;  •  our relatively well-functioning financial system and the gradual improvements in financial conditions in Canada next year;  •  the past depreciation of the Canadian dollar;  •  stimulative fiscal policy measures;  •  the rebound in external demand in 2010, particularly in emerging markets, and the associated firming of commodity prices;  •  the strengths of Canadian household, business, and bank balance sheets; and  •  the end of the stock adjustments in Canadian and U.S. residential housing.