The Bank of Canada today reduced its target for the overnight rate to 4¾%, with the Bank Rate at 5% and the deposit rate at 4¾%. The Bank is continuing its policy of balance sheet normalization. The global economy grew by about 3% in the first quarter of 2024, broadly in line with the Bank’s April Monetary Policy Report (MPR) projection. In the United States, the economy expanded more slowly than was expected, as weakness in exports and inventories weighed on... [read more]

While BoC stands pat, interest rates are starting to change fast. Mortgage relief is starting, even as the Bank of Canada continues to leave its benchmark overnight rate untouched. But alongside change comes a marked decline in rates guaranteed investment certificates. Now is the time to zero in on what’s happening with the interest rates that interest you. Note…other rates are indirectly influenced by the overnight rate, but move independently. For example, the cost of fixed-rate... [read more]

Weekly Steve Kornbluth (Agent with TMG Safebridge Mortgage Solutions) touches on "big news" and what it means for the mortgage market moving forward. Have a look at his thoughts for the week of March 13, 2023. The BoC didn’t increase its policy rate (but did reiterate its hawkish bias). Canadian variable-rate borrowers rejoiced last Wednesday after the BoC announced that it would hold its policy rate steady (for the first time in nine meetings, going back to... [read more]

Bank of Canada’s Interest Rate Announcement: Increase of 0.25% The Bank of Canada‘s overnight rate is back on the upswing, per this June 7, 2023 interest rate announcement. The Bank raised its key rate to 4.75 per cent, marking the first increase since January and the highest rate we’ve seen since April 2001. Why the upward movement? The Bank cited stronger-then-expected economic activity as the reason for its decision, driven by consumer demand and consumption. Gross... [read more]

Over the last couple of years, various surveys have revealed the same thing: prospective homeowners are concerned that they will be unable to buy a home because they cannot afford the down payment.  Indeed, with Canadian Real Estate prices way above their pre-pandemic highs, plus interest rates at their highest levels since the global financial crisis, it is getting harder for younger Canadians to dip their toes in the housing market.  Under the federal government’s... [read more]