In a very dovish statement, the Bank of Canada acknowledged this morning that the slowdown in the Canadian economy has been deeper and more broadly based than it had expected earlier this year. The Bank had forecast weak exports and investment in the energy sector and a decline in consumer spending in the oil-producing provinces […]

Statistics released today by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) show that national home sales improved in January, climbing 3.6% from December ’18 to January ’19. Last year’s annual sales were the weakest since 2012. As the chart below shows, national monthly home sales remain below their 10-year moving average and are decidedly lower than […]

The Big 6 banks dominate the Canadian mortgage market but may not be the best choice for borrowers. An analysis from LowestRates.ca has found that, in 2018, Canada’s largest banks – RBC, TD, BMO, Scotiabank, CIBC, and National Bank of Canada – were consistently the most expensive options. Even the lowest rates of the Big […]

Housing News January Data From Local Real Estate Boards In separate releases, the local real estate boards in Canada’s largest housing markets released data this week showing home sales fell sharply in Vancouver, edged upward in Toronto and continued robust in Montreal. Overall, higher interest rates, the mortgage stress test and in the case of […]

The tighter mortgage rules introduced at the start of 2018 have been defended by the financial services regulator. The B-20 mortgage guidelines continue to be cited by Realtors for falling home sales and there have been countless calls for them to be changed or scrapped. But the assistant superintendent of OSFI spoke Tuesday to defend […]

The Canadian economy is showing cracks in its foundation and, beginning with turmoil in Alberta, they will reverberate through the coming year. Alberta’s oil glut in tandem with the federal government’s inability to build pipelines is having country-wide ramifications. “The federal government has not been able to get its pipelines done and it’s really hurt […]

The Bank of Canada will announce its December interest rates decision Wednesday and few are expecting a Grinch-like pre-Christmas shock. But while there should be a pause on rate rises this month, a change from the central bank’s previously bullish tone on rate rises will be in focus given some shifting conditions since October’s increase. […]

The Bank of Canada should hold pat on interest rates until the spring according to The C.D. Howe Institute’s Monetary Policy Council. It is calling for a hold-steady at 1.75% in December and January, with the next rate rise taking place by May 2019 (2%) and then a further rise by the end of 2019 […]

Canada posted moderate employment gains as the unemployment rate dipped once again to historically low levels, which was the result of fewer people look for work. Despite very tight labour markets and rising job vacancy rates, wage growth weakened in October. Statistics Canada released data today that showed a moderate 11.2k gain in employment, but […]

As was universally expected, the Bank of Canada’s Governing Council hiked overnight rates this morning by 25 basis points taking the benchmark yield to 1-3/4%. This marked the fifth rate increase since the current tightening phase began in July 2017 (see chart below). The central bank stated it would return the overnight rate to a […]