Canada’s central bank has decided to keep its benchmark interest rate at 1.75 per cent, and says the timing of possible future hikes has become increasingly uncertain. The Bank of Canada says the economic slowdown that began at the end of last year is a bit worse than it was expecting, including a sharper-than-anticipated slowdown in Canada’s oil patch. The bank also singled out softness in the housing market and consumer spending as reasons for a gloomier outlook. “It is clear that global economic prospects would be buoyed by the resolution of trade conflicts,” the bank said. “With incre ..read more

After a screeching halt sometimes comes a crash. This was the year when Canada’s housing market hit the brakes. So what will happen in 2019? Predicting housing prices is famously difficult. And forecasting housing meltdowns like the one that nearly brought down the global financial system in 2008 may be downright impossible. For now, though, the way experts cautiously paint the future for next year is closer to the picture of a landing plane than that of a rocket ship plummeting earthward. The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) sees home sales rebounding a little (2.1 per cent) next year ..read more

The British Columbia Real Estate Association estimates that economic growth will remain strong enough to support a boost in sales next year after a substantial decline in 2018, according to its latest forecast. When the dust settles at the end of this year, association chief economist Cameron Muir expects sales recorded through the Multiple Listing Service will have fallen 23 per cent to 80,000 transactions, compared with 103,768 in 2017. “However, continuing strong performance in the economy combined with favourable demographics is expected to push home sales above their 10-year average in 20 ..read more

In some ways it would be easier to plan if we really knew for sure whether Canadian home prices were about to fall off a cliff as so many people keep predicting. But of course that’s not how markets work. A difference of opinion about the future is one of the reasons why there is always a buyer for something you are anxious to unload. Decisions on where the market will go next depend on too many factors to include here. But as Canadians wait for tomorrow’s latest data on house sales and pricing from the the Canadian Real Estate Association, here are some considerations people m ..read more

Real estate experts in British Columbia predict residential home sales will dip this year but remain well above the province’s 10-year average, although they warn rising interest rates could leave some B.C. households “vulnerable.” The British Columbia Real Estate Association has released its 2018 first quarter housing forecast, showing residential sales are expected to fall 8.6 per cent to 94,855 units this year, with the decline continuing into 2019. The projected skid follows the 7.5 per cent decrease recorded last year but the association says residential sales in B.C. are still well above ..read more

The “Big Six” Canadian banks have now all hiked mortgage rates ahead of a Bank of Canada policy announcement on Wednesday. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Royal Bank of Canada and Toronto-Dominion Bank raised mortgage rates last week, citing “recent activity by competitors” and “Bank of Canada rate changes” as some of the factors that go into an increase. Bank of Nova Scotia has now hiked as well, increasing its posted five-year fixed-rate mortgage rate to 5.14 per cent from 4.99 per cent. The lender also boosted its one-year, two-year, three-year, four-year, seven-year, and 10-year fixed ..read more

If your New Year’s dreams include buying a home in B.C., don’t expect it to get much easier in 2018, according to one expert. “The best guess for where prices are going to be a year from now is about where they are today,” said Tom Davidoff, associate professor at the University of B.C.’s Sauder School of Business Davidoff says there are some changes coming that could slow things down — stricter mortgage regulations that take effect  Jan. 1, for one — but overall he predicts prices will keep climbing. “Fifty years from now, I would be very surprised ..read more

The housing markets in Toronto and Vancouver could resume their previous upward trajectories amid conditions of tight supply and burgeoning demand, according to a new report from CIBC World Markets. The Canadian housing market, in general, is in an important transition period — especially Vancouver and Toronto, economist Benjamin Tal said in the report, which was released Tuesday. He said activity is likely to stabilize and perhaps soften in the coming quarters as markets adjust to recent and upcoming regulatory changes, including tougher rules for getting a mortgage. “But when the fog clears ..read more

Despite efforts by government and regulators to curb Metro Vancouver’s hot housing market, new home prices have continued to climb in the past year. Recently released data from Statistics Canada shows the overall price of brand new houses and townhomes in the region has soared 6.2 per cent in the 12 months since June 2016. “Last time [the new house price index] grew larger than 6.2 per cent was in June of 2010,” said analyst Rohit Verma, adding prices rose 6.7 per cent. The agency has numbers dating back to 1981. Verma says the information is gathered through a monthly survey of home builders ..read more

It’s taken nine months, but the Vancouver housing market may have finally shaken off the foreign buyers tax, data from a home price index suggested on Wednesday. The Teranet-National Bank of Canada House Price Index showed that Vancouver home prices grew by 8.2 per cent year-over-year in May, and 1.46 per cent month-over-month. At 252.30, the index reached its highest level since September 2016, which was one month after a 15 per cent property transfer tax on foreign buyers came into effect in Metro Vancouver. The index has fluctuated since then, hitting as low as 242.64 in December. Meanwhile ..read more