February 22nd, 2022 Mortgage Industry Update
The Bank of Canada announced on January 26th that its overnight lending rate will remain at 0.25%. The prime rate remains 2.45%. The Bank of Canada suggests that they will more than likely raise interest rates sometime this year to tackle higher than anticipated inflation rates.
Additionally this week:
– Statistics Canada: Annual inflation was 5.1% last month, up from 4.8% in December. This is now a new three-decade high. Economists were anticipating inflation would be unchanged in January. Inflation has now exceeded the central bank’s 1-3% control range for 10 straight months.
– The Canadian government has estimated that the number of Canadians aged 65 or older will swell from at least six million in 2014 (15.6% of the total population) to roughly 9.5 million in 2030 (23% of the projected total population).
– Statistics Canada: Period between July 2020-2021 had seen record number of departures from GTA to other parts of Ontario; 64,000 people leaving city and its surrounding region for pastures new. City of Toronto registering an overall population decline of 16,500 during that period.
– Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government aims to add more than 431,000 permanent residents this year, 447,000 in 2023 and 451,000 in 2024 (totalling 1.3M). Figures for this year and 2023 have been revised higher from earlier targets of 411,000 and 421,000, respectively.
– Statistics Canada: More than 1.2 million people (3.5% of Canadians) lived in downtown portion of one of country’s 41 large urban centres in spring of 2021. Downtowns saw their populations grow 10.9% between 2016-2021, much faster rate than the 4.6% growth experienced in 2011-2016.
– Statistics Canada: Canadian residential building construction costs increased by 3.8% in Q4 2021, following a similar rise in Q3. 8 out of 11 major census metropolitan areas saw a slight slowing in the pace of residential building construction price growth in Q4.
Stay tuned for the next update!
For any questions and concerns please do not hesitate to call Harpreet Singh The Mortgage King at (416) 795-1919.
