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The Bank of Canada announced on April 16th that its overnight rate will hold at 2.75%. Marks the first pause after seven consecutive rate cuts. The major shift in direction of US trade policy and the unpredictability of tariffs have increased uncertainty and diminished prospects for economic growth. The prime rate remains 4.95%.

Additionally this week:

– Altus Group: Only 310 new homes were sold in April, down 72% from last year and 89% below the 10-year average. Weakest month on record, with nothing even close over the past 30 years of data. Benchmark single-family home fell 5.4% to $1.53M. Condos down to $1.02M, a 3.6% drop.

– Equifax: Ontario’s mortgage delinquency rate in Q1 surged by 71.5% from the same period last year, reaching 0.24%, the highest increase among all Canadian provinces. Rest of the country experienced a far smaller average rise of 3.3%, bringing the national average to 0.19%.

– According to Equifax’s Consumer Trends and Insights, 1.4 million consumers missed a credit payment in the first quarter of this year. That’s an increase of 146,000 from last year.

– Royal LePage: 29% of the Canadians planning to retire this year or in 2026 will carry mortgage debt into their retirement. Separate data from Statistics Canada shows that in 2016, only 14% of senior families had mortgage debt and in 1999 that proportion was just 8%.

– The 25th annual CMHC Mortgage Consumer Survey found that 12% of mortgage transactions in the past 18 months were from first-time buyers—up from 10% in 2024. Renewals remained the most common mortgage transaction at 65%, followed by refinances at 18%.

– Economists surveyed by Bloomberg project Canada’s output will shrink by 1% in Q2 2025 and by 0.1% in Q3, meeting the criteria for a technical recession. Businesses and consumers grapple with significant uncertainty surrounding the nation’s trade relationship with USA.

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.