No major changes to mortgage rates – for now.
Mortgage rates have not changed much since my last update. The Bank of Canada kept their official interest rate on hold at their last meeting earlier this month but it was the opposite a few weeks ago in the US where the Feds increased rates. Rising inflation announced recently in the UK could set the stage for them to do the same. It’s not predicted, but Canada could potentially follow the same pattern especially if we continue to experience positive growth in jobs, retail sales and GDP. An increase in mortgage rates would have a significant impact on housing affordability in Canada especially in the Vancouver and Toronto areas.
Mortgage lending qualifications remain very tight and getting access to cheap money continues to get more challenging. Lenders remain concerned with our real estate prices and many bank executives have expressed concern about a possible real estate bubble. Rising Canadian interest rates would intensify their concerns.
Mortgage clients should be cautious when making decisions about rates and a fixed rate should be on their radar. Lenders have introduced many rate specials since beginning the Spring market especially for insured mortgage:
- 5 year fixed at 2.59%
- 4.5 year variable at 2.05%
Need a rate hold of up to 120 days, click here.
Real estate sales have become closer to the averages but have begun to accelerate.
The BC Government continues to tweak real estate policies and recently announced positive changes to the foreign buyer’s tax. Ontario is hinting at changing the Capital Gains tax on real estate sales to deter speculators from flipping. Fingers crossed we don’t see any similar changes in BC. Vancouver and Toronto Real estate continues to be a hot topic and all eyes seem to be on the market conditions as we roll into the spring season. Local condo and townhome sales remain very robust and prices are rising fast. Detached homes are less so but prices are stable. Stay tuned for further updates as we get further into the year.
I have more new listings being launched soon. The latest: Click Here to View Listings