Canada’s central bank is flooding the credit market, and hoping nothing sinks. The Bank of Canada (BoC) made an unscheduled rate decision today, dropping the policy rate to just 0.25%. The decision is the third cut just this month, and marks a return to the lowest policy rate Canada has ever seen. Policy Interest Rate […]
Canadian debt is becoming very cheap, very rapidly – and it’s not a great sign. Bank of Canada (BoC) data shows the effective interest rate paid by households fell to a monthly year low on March 20. The decline from a year ago is the fastest we’ve seen rates drop during this period, since the […]
Time for your cheat sheet on this week’s most important stories. Canadian Real Estate Canadian Interest Rates Are Falling, But Fear Is Driving Mortgage Rates Higher Canadian interest rates are dropping, but many mortgage rates are rising. For example, RBC increased its 5-year fixed for conventional mortgages from 2.94% to 3.34% on March 18. TD […]
Canadian bank regulators are jumping into action to contain economic risk. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) made emergency changes last week in response to COVID-19. These changes include dropping the update to the mortgage stress test, lowering domestic stability buffers, and asking banks to halt share buybacks and dividend hikes. Mortgage […]
Time for your cheat sheet on this week’s most important stories. Canadian Real Estate Canadian Reverse Mortgage Debt Tops $4 Billion For The First Time Ever Canadian reverse mortgage debt hit a new milestone. OSFI regulated banks held $4 billion in reverse mortgage debt in December, up 13% from last year. This is the first […]
All hail the return of cheap money for Canada, it’s been weeks. Bank of Canada (BoC) data shows the effective interest rate paid by households dropped to a multi-year low as of March 6, 2020. The rate is now the lowest seen in over two years, having taken one of the biggest declines in at […]
Canadians slowed their renovation spending, but that’s expected to change. Altus Group is forecasting an upcoming rise in renovation spending, after a decline in 2018. The firm expects 2019 numbers to come in higher when reported later this year. They also expect 2020 numbers to top last year’s final numbers, fueled by HELOCs and mortgage […]
Canadian household credit is on a tear, accelerating growth and setting a new record high. Bank of Canada (BoC) data shows the balance of household debt made a big advance in January. The increase was driven entirely by mortgage debt however, as the balance of consumer debt fell to a 6 month low. Canadian Households […]
Canadian seniors pushed another segment of debt to a new milestone. Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) filings show reverse mortgage debt hit a new all-time high in December. The high is the first time reverse mortgages reached a balance of over $4 billion. Reverse Mortgages For those that don’t know, a reverse […]
Canadian households and businesses are falling underwater, despite a booming real estate market. Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada (OSB) data shows a big climb for insolvency filings in January 2020. The big jump in filings helped to push the month’s numbers to the highest level since 2010. Canadian Insolvencies Rise To Highest Level […]
