Canada’s central bank quietly updated its real estate affordability index. It wasn’t good news. The Housing Affordability Index (HAI) made a big jump in Q3 2021. Maintained by the Bank of Canada (BOC), the HAI shows the share of income required to service a mortgage on a home. Low rates are no longer helping affordability, […]
Canadian bond yields are soaring, but the central bank isn’t expected to raise rates. At least not yet, according to an analysis from BMO Capital Markets. Government of Canada (GoC) bond yields showed a multi-year high for annual growth in 2021. This means rising market expectations of the overnight rate climbing in the near-term. Despite […]
Canadians are buying into the narrative that higher mortgage rates will wreck half of households. A survey making the rounds saying exactly that doesn’t help, but the narrative existed before the survey. Fortunately, this isn’t true. How can we be sure? Well, let’s start with less than a third of households have a mortgage. Less […]
Over the past year, we’ve heard that younger households were behind the real estate binge. In addition to transfer data showing that’s not true, Equifax mortgage data for Q3 2021 agrees. Most demographics showed little change in their borrowing patterns, except for the extremes. Millennial-led households maintained their share of mortgages, but a larger share […]
Canada’s central bank warned real estate buyers to prepare for higher interest rates. It appears buyers are calling their bluff, opting for little rate protection on loans. Bank of Canada (BoC) data shows the share of new mortgages with variable rates doubled in October. Interest costs on most new uninsured mortgages will rise with rates, […]
Canada’s central bank renewed its mandate, but with one fundamental change. The Bank of Canada (BoC) will now consider employment in addition to its goal of maintaining a 2% rate of inflation. The Governor stressed, it’s difficult to figure out when full employment is present. Two of Canada’s “Big Six” banks say full employment has […]
One of Canada’s “Big Six” banks is declaring next year to be “The Year of The Hike.” National Bank of Canada (NBC) chief strategist (and poet-in-residence) Warren Lovely is calling the first interest rate hike in just a few months. He sees the Bank of Canada (BoC) making its hike in March, way ahead of […]
Canada has seen a surge in real estate buyers looking to get ahead of rising rates. After all, a higher cost of borrowing means higher payments, right? Running TransUnion mortgage payment data against mortgage rates shows the exact opposite. This is due to the basic design of interest rates, which are increasingly ignored due to […]
Canada’s oldest bank is accelerating its forecast schedule for the central bank. BMO sees the first interest rate hike in April, after yesterday’s announcement from the Bank of Canada (BoC). That would be 3-months sooner than previously forecast, and the first hike is just the beginning. The forecast shows the overnight rate rising as much […]
No, you didn’t accidentally eat the wrong brownie from the freezer. One of Canada’s biggest banks actually sent traders a Christmas poem about the Bank of Canada (BoC) governor’s management. It turns out it’s actually a tradition at the National Bank of Canada (NBC), who really should be teaching a Masterclass on throwing shade. They’ve […]
