May 7th, 2024 Mortgage Industry Update
The Bank of Canada announced on April 10th that its overnight lending rate will remain at 5.00%. The Bank expects CPI inflation to be close to 3% during the first half of this year, move below 2½% in the second half, and reach the 2% inflation target in 2025. The prime rate remains at 7.20%.
Additionally this week:
– Urbanation: Toronto rent prices for purpose-built apartments and condos fell year-over-year in March. 0.7% decrease in March marked the third month in a row that prices dropped in Toronto. Compared to the same time last year, prices were down 1.3%, at an average of $2,782.
– Zoocasa: The cost of living in Toronto went up nearly 20 per cent between 2017 and 2022 – but that’s less than half the increase seen in the city’s housing prices over the last five years.
– Canadian Bankers Association: National arrears rate was unchanged in January. The arrears rate, which tracks mortgages that are behind payments by 3+ months, was 0.18%, unchanged from December. That works out to just 9,247 mortgages in arrears out of a total of over 5.03 million.
– The RBC Annual Home Ownership Poll found that 60% of Canadians under 65 now believe owning a home is a good investment, up from 53% last year. Additionally, 29% plan to purchase a home within the next two years, a jump from 22% in 2023.
– TD Economics study: Household net worth rose last year by 4.5% to $16.4T, rebounding from a decline of 6.5% in 2022. While income in wealthiest households increased 6% yearly, income in bottom and second quintiles barely rose or declined. Gap has not been this wide since 2015.
– Toronto’s home prices could reach an average of $2 million by 2034 if current trends continue, according to a new report from Zoocasa. The report showed that Toronto home prices have risen by an average of 5.6% annually over the past decade.
– CREA says average selling price of a resale home in Ontario hit $889,033 in March 2024, up from $416,300 recorded in 2014. TRREB says average selling price of GTA home hit $1,121,615 last month as compared to $557,684 in March 2014 – an increase of well over $500,000 in 10 years.
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.
