Canada’s central bank made its first interest rate hike since slashing it down to nearly nothing. The Bank of Canada (BoC) announced it will raise the overnight rate today, marking a path to rate normalization. Today’s hike was widely expected, and the first of many that are forecast over the next two years. Rising rates […]
Canada’s central bank is overwhelmingly expected to hike interest rates aggressively. We polled the country’s top finance experts for their overnight rate forecast. Nearly all expect the Bank of Canada (BoC) to hike rates tomorrow. They don’t see the rate hikes ending there, though. Over the next year, they see interest rates rising aggressively to […]
Canadian mortgage borrowers still in the market aren’t worried about higher interest rates, apparently. Bank of Canada (BoC) data shows new mortgage loan annual growth was negative in December. The majority of the remaining activity was issued with variable interest rates. It might not be obvious, but variable mortgage costs are essentially a bearish bet […]
Canadians are suddenly borrowing a lot less mortgage debt these days. Bank of Canada (BoC) data shows new mortgage lending contracted in December 2021. New lending, including new mortgages and refinancing, fell to the lowest level since March 2020. It’s a sudden reversal for borrowers as price growth hits a fevered pitch and higher rates […]
Time for your cheat sheet on this week’s top stories. Canadian Real Estate Madness Or Supply? Canadian Real Estate Prices Don’t Add Up: BMO Canadian real estate prices are growing even faster than during the late ‘80s bubble. Annual growth reached 28% in January 2022, with prices rising a whopping 46.4% over the past two […]
Canadian real estate prices are soaring, but the fastest growth is not coming from big cities. BMO chief economist Douglas Porter tells clients to really think hard about this growth. Home prices are now rising even faster than at the peak of the 1980s real estate bubble. Most of that growth isn’t coming from emerging […]
Canada’s vacant home problem is improving but not very quickly. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) Census 2021 data reveals vacant homes fell from 2016. Resort towns have the highest share of vacant homes. This occurred despite the boom in year round residents in these cities. Let’s take a dive into the data. Canada’s Vacant Homes The […]
Central banks may have held rates too low for too long, making it difficult to normalize. The US is now discussing the flattening of the “yield curve,” often a sign of an economic slowdown. Canada is ignoring a similar discussion, despite flattening even faster than the US. Flattening quickly turns into yield curve inversion, considered […]
Canada’s national statistics agency revealed a surprise in the latest Census drop. BMO Capital Markets found Canada’s housing stock has grown faster than its population. Robert Kavcic, a senior economist at BMO, pulled historic data and found this to be the case for two decades. The bank acknowledges long-term supply issues, but believes how much […]
A prominent skeptic of Ontario’s ambitious housing plan has emerged — Canada’s oldest bank. The province’s Housing Affordability Task Force released a plan to build 1.5 million homes over 10 years. BMO senior economist Robert Kavcic dumped a bucket of cold water on the plan. Not only does the bank say it doesn’t make sense, […]
