January 17th, 2023 Mortgage Industry Update
The Bank of Canada announced on December 7th that its overnight lending rate will increase to 4.25% from 3.75%. Inflation globally and in Canada continues to rise. Central banks around the world continue to tighten as well. The prime rate has increased to 6.45% from 5.95%. The Bank of Canada suggests that they are now considering whether or not more increases are needed.
Additionally this week:
– Statistics Canada: Toronto saw nearly 100,000 people leave the city and area, with 78 per cent choosing to settle in other parts of the province over a one-year period to July 1. Montreal and Vancouver saw about 35,000 and 14,000 people exit, respectively.
– CBRE Group Inc: Vacancy rate at Canadian office buildings reached a record high at the end of last year. Nationwide, 17.1% of offices were empty as 2.1M sqft of space failed to find a tenant. In downtown Toronto it was 13.6 per cent, the highest since the third quarter of 2003.
– Canadian Bankers Association: In September there were just 7,305 Canadian mortgages in arrears out of over 5.1 million, representing just 0.14%. In the midst of the pandemic in 2020, the arrears rate was nearly double.
– Statistics Canada: The economy saw 104,000 jobs added in December and a slight fall in the unemployment rate to 5.0%. The unemployment rate has now fallen for the third time in four months and hovers close to the 4.9% record low it hit in June and July 2022.
– TRREB: 3,117 sales occurred in GTA during December, marking a 48.2% decline annually and 31% monthly. New listings totalled 4,074, down 21.3%. Average selling price was $1,051,216, down from $1,157,837; 9.2% decrease. Overall recorded 75,140 sales throughout the year – down 38.2%.
– New immigration numbers show Canada has again set a record for permanent residents, welcoming 431,645 new in 2022. Liberals’ immigration plan envisions steadily increasing immigration levels over the next few years, rising to 500,000 new PRs entering the country by 2025.
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.
