Tag Archives: Vancouver Housing Market

Carney and the Rate Game

Higher rates have been on Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney’s mind this week. Carey signalled the chance of tighter policy on three separate occasions this week, even after keeping the key lending rate at 1.0 percent. however, Carney’s insistance that rates are on their way up sets Canada apart from other central banks that continue to look for ways to stimulate their economics amid the European debt crisis, a struggling U.S. market, and disappointing growth in China.

According to official transcripts from Carney’s interview with the BBC in London on Wednesday, the Bank of Canada feels that Canada is “in a very different place than the major crisis economies, such as the U.K.”. According to Carney, Canada’s economy is almost back to full capacity, “the labour market’s been growing, we’re growing above – we had been growing above trend, and the extent to which we continue to grow above trend, we may withdraw some of the monetary policy stimulus.” Continue reading

Toronto and Vancouver Markets Begin to Cool

Home sales in Canada’s two hottest markets, Toronto and Vancouver, have already begun to cool thanks to new mortgage rules. According to the Toronto Real Estate Board, July home sales in the city slipped 1.5 percent compared to a year ago. Properties in Vancouver dropped 11.2 percent from June.

Concerns about a bubble in both communities had been mounting since 2011. Recent changes to mortgage legislature has effectively slowed demand in both markets; Vancouver’s market posted a 10-year low in sales, while Toronto’s numbers were down 21 percent in the second quarter from one quarter earlier (source: Urbanation Inc.). Continue reading