July 10th Mortgage Industry Update
July 10th, 2018 Mortgage Industry Update
The Bank of Canada announced on May 30th that it’s overnight lending rate will remain at 1.25%. The prime rate thus remains at 3.45% with most lenders. The 5 year posted rate has officially increased with the Bank of Canada from 5.14% to 5.34%. Fixed rates are stabilizing from recent changes in the bond market.
Additionally this week:
– Juwai: Chinese nationals expressed interest in about US$1.45 billion worth of Canadian properties last year, with interest in Toronto and Vancouver slipping following the introduction of foreign buyers taxes.
– TREB: Toronto home sales up 2.4% last month as compared to 2017, a sign that market is rebounding. Average price up 2% to $807,871. New listings down 19% to 15,922. Active listings up 5.9% to 20,844.
– RBC Economics: Rising interest rates took a bite out of housing affordability in Q1 2018, things are not looking brighter for the near future. Average Canadian households had to allocate 48.4% of their income to housing costs, rise of 0.4% from Q4 2017 and a new multi-decade high.
– Equifax: Canadian delinquency rates, which have been declining since the last recession, will probably reverse and begin to climb by the end of 2018 as the central bank presses ahead with interest rate increases.
– West Vancouver is considered as one of Canada’s highest priced neighborhoods, but it is also currently one of the emptiest. According to the 2016 Census, the rate of unoccupied luxury homes between $6M – $8M is at 9.2%, the highest in all of Metro Vancouver.
– Housing Market Insight released by CMHC: Over half of buyers encountered bidding wars in the country’s housing markets. According to the study, fully 55% of buyers experienced a bidding war in Toronto and Vancouver, far higher than the 17% ratio seen Montreal.
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.
