“The banks are trying so hard to get the best borrower, so for brokers trying to expand their business, private lending is the area they really should put more emphasis on.”

The rise of the private lending sphere has also been fuelled by the money Xu said was flooding into the space, with investors increasingly viewing it as a solid area for future growth.

A likely abundance of caution in investing directly in real estate on the part of those investors, she said, could provide a boost for mortgage investment corporations (MICs) and other entities in the coming year.

“I think a lot of investors are still going to be very cautious in buying properties directly this year,” she said. “[Many] will put money into real estate-related investment vehicles like MICs, and mortgage investment trusts investing in private mortgages.”

The impact of immigration

Much attention has focused on the possible return of immigration as a major factor in Canada’s housing market in 2022, with the federal government having indicated its intention to welcome a record number of new Canadians in the near future – 411,000 this year, followed by 421,000 in 2023.