Soaring mortgage costs are rapidly cooling the frothy American real estate market. Mortgage applications and pending home sales cratered, show leading indicators released this week. Demand is being throttled by rising mortgage rates, which are now at the highest level since 2009. Home prices have yet to respond to the fall in demand, but experts […]
Canadians know the real estate market is growing fast but how unusually fast it’s moving may not be clear. Data from US Federal Reserve researchers might help with that. The numbers show Canadian home prices increased at a rate at least 50% faster than any other G7 country in Q4 2021. The issue isn’t just […]
It’s hard to believe, but Canada’s epic real estate boom might be ending. That was the ominous warning from Desjardins, one of the country’s large financial institutions. They see higher mortgage rates cooling demand significantly in the coming months. The market is forecast to cool so much they see real estate prices falling towards “real […]
The Canadian economy might seem booming — but not for everyone. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) payroll data shows elevated job vacancies in February. Wages increased, as one would expect with such high job vacancies. They just failed to keep up with the kind of growth expected in a high inflation environment. Average wages grew by […]
Canadian mortgage borrowers are going to be paying much higher rates soon. Desjardins’ latest consumer interest rate forecast shows the 5-year fixed rate mortgage climbing — a lot. Over the next few quarters, it can hit up to 7% — a rate that would have seemed impossible back in 2019. Elevated inflation may push borrowing […]
Canadian interest rates are on the rise and households apparently took that as a warning to borrow as much as possible. Filings with the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) show home equity line of credit balances surged higher in February. Over 28 days, Canadians borrowed $2 billion more in HELOC debt — […]
From low-for-long to high-for-longer, Canada may not have inflation under control. A new report from BMO Capital Markets forecasts the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Canada, and the US will taper into next year. Despite US inflation being much higher, it’s expected to fall below Canada’s rate and start 2024 at a more stable level. […]
Canadian real estate developers are being squeezed by inflation, and it’s turning ugly. The Hazleton Development Corporation obtained Companies’ Creditor Arrangement Act (CCAA) protection on April 20, 2022. The developer cited rising costs as one of the primary issues putting a 265-home project at completion risk. In this particular case, costs rose less than typical […]
High inflation has become such a risk to the economy, the central bank will do anything to slow it. That might include raising interest rates higher than already aggressive forecasts have called. This was the message from the Bank of Canada (BoC) at the Standing Committee on Finance today. The central bank Governor made it […]
Canada’s bank regulator is getting its ducks in a row after a routine audit to assess financial system risk. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) published its first Annual Risk Outlook last week. The report covers systemic risks to the system, including a home price crash. Amongst the issues uncovered was mortgage […]
