The federal election is done and we now know what the government will look like for the foreseeable future. Among the key promises made during the election campaign were pledges to fix the country’s housing problems. Housing was the number-three domestic issue in the campaign according to a survey conducted for Royal LePage. (The economy/cost […]

Canada’s Gross Domestic Product started the year with good growth and looks poised to meet or exceed expectations for the first quarter even though it slowed in February. Statistics Canada reports January GDP rose by 0.4%, up one-tenth of a percentage point from December.  Early estimates for February suggest growth will be flat.  Still, forecasters […]

Canada once prided itself on its stability.  Post-GFC, the Canadian financial institutions were strong, and the economy remained resilient as the US struggled to recover from the Global Financial Crisis. In 2000, the median household income in Canada was $47,301, which compares to $84,000 in 2024.   This represents a modest annualized increase of 2.4%. […]

With the arrival of the new year comes a new round of predictions about what is ahead for interest rates, mortgages and real estate. Generally, the mood among realtors is up-beat.  The Canadian Real Estate Association has tempered its forecasts but continues to forecast increases for sales and home prices through 2025.  CREA expects an […]

VANCOUVER (December 11, 2024) – The Canadian Mortgage Brokers Association – British Columbia (CMBA-BC) is welcoming today’s announcement by Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem to cut the key overnight rate by 50 basis points —from 3.75 per cent to 3.25 per cent. The central bank is also signalling that further rate reductions may be […]

With inflation deemed to be under control the Bank of Canada is focusing on other factors as it determines its interest rate policy. A major one of those is economic growth, or Gross Domestic Product.  GDP is the value of all goods and services produced by the economy. The latest numbers from Statistics Canada show […]

The October inflation report caused a minor commotion but it does not appear to have upset things enough to see the Bank of Canada change course. Statistics Canada reports headline inflation, also known as the Consumer Price Index, rose to 2.0%, on a year-over-year basis, up from 1.6% in September.  An increase was expected, but […]

The re-election of Donald Trump as president of the United States will have economic and social repercussions in Canada. There was an, almost, immediate reaction to the re-election in the bond market which drives fixed-rate mortgage pricing.  Yields jumped triggering rate increases by some lenders. In the days after the election, the yield on 10-year […]

The Bank of Canada’s larger-than-normal interest rate cut last month has a lot of market watchers looking for more of the same.  Most of the well-known economists are forecasting another 50 basis point cut at the setting in December. That would drop the central bank’s trend setting Policy Rate to 3.25%, which many analysts see […]

VANCOUVER (October 23, 2024) – The Canadian Mortgage Brokers Association – British Columbia (CMBA-BC) welcomes today’s announcement by the Governor of the Bank of Canada Tiff Macklem that the Bank of Canada will substantially cut its key overnight rate by 50 basis points from 4.25 per cent to 3.75 per cent. This decision follows rate […]