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Hamilton Spectator
4 days ago
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Waiting for interest rates to drop? Here's what Canadians need to know before renewing their mortgage
Canadians with pending mortgage renewals will be watching the Bank of Canada's next interest rate announcement on July 30 to see if they'll get some payment relief. The overnight lending rate, which impacts credit products such as variable rate mortgages, adjustable rates, and home equity lines of credit, has remained at 2.75 per cent since March. With Canada's inflation rate sitting at 1.9 per cent in June, well within the Bank of Canada's goal of 1 to 3 per cent, a rate drop aimed to tame inflation appears unlikely. But a study by TD Economics suggests ongoing softness in Canada's labour market could open the door to potential rate cuts later this year. In a new report, the C.D. Howe Institute's Monetary Policy Council urged the Bank of Canada to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2.75 per cent on July 30, but lower the rate to 2.5 per cent in September and leave it there until next July. National home sales fell 4.8 per cent in March compared to February, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association . The MLS Home Price Index, which tracks neighbourhoods' home price levels and trends, also fell 1 per cent during the same period. A study by TD Economics shows 60 per cent of outstanding mortgages are slated for renewal between now and 2026 and 40 per cent are expected to be renewed at higher rates. In a recent commentary , TD Economist Rishi Sondhi said consumers have shied away from major purchases like homes as they worry about possible job losses or economic uncertainty from U.S. tariffs. 'U.S.-Canada trade tensions and job markets are significant factors that can affect housing demand and prices,' Sondhi said. 'So, even if housing sales levels improve, they are likely to remain subdued compared to peak pandemic levels due to this market uncertainty, particularly in B.C. and Ontario.' While the housing market has slowed in many parts of the country, homeowners shouldn't blindly renew their mortgage with their current lender without shopping around for a better deal, according to , a website that helps consumers compare rates for various financial products. 'The slow housing market of late means that lenders are currently competing for mortgage business and there is incentive to retain customers,' said Victor Tran, mortgage and real estate expert in a release. Tran noted Canadians could find better rates or more attractive policy terms available compared to those publicly posted or initially offered at renewal. 'Homeowners should also review their policies to ensure that they are suitable for the life plans they may have during the duration of the mortgage, which can help save money,' Tran added. For example, renewing with a mortgage term of five years with penalty clauses for breaking the mortgage early may be costly for a homeowner planning to move in less than five years. If your mortgage is up for renewal, offers the following tips. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Calgary Herald
4 days ago
- Business
- Calgary Herald
Uptick in home sales varies across the country
The temporary cooling of trade tensions in June led to buyers returning to many markets across Canada, a new report has found. Article content Yet the uptick in activity was 'far from a stampede,' RBC Economics noted earlier this month in its assessment of the national picture for resale real estate. Article content Article content Vancouver, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon, Toronto and Halifax saw positive month-over-month sales growth in June, but resale growth was not enough to overcome retractions from earlier in the year, it added. Article content Article content Conditions remain 'soft' in Southern Ontario and British Columbia despite these markets stabilizing somewhat. Still, the MLS Home Price Index continued to decline in Toronto and Vancouver along with surrounding regional markets. The index fell 5.5 per cent in Toronto and 2.8 per cent in Vancouver. The only other major market in the study showing an index decline was Calgary at 3.6 per cent. Article content Article content Vancouver and Toronto are buyer's markets with sales-to-new-listings ratios below 40 per cent, and Calgary continues to show balanced conditions for sellers and buyers with a ratio at about 58 per cent. Edmonton and Montreal have resale real estate markets that favour sellers slightly, both with 66 per cent sales-to-new-listings ratios. Article content
Calgary Herald
15-07-2025
- Business
- Calgary Herald
'I don't think we are bouncing back': Struggling Toronto housing market could remain fragile through 2025, realtors say
Article content By Shayan Alvi Article content Despite a slight month-over-month uptick in home sales in the Greater Toronto Area in June, many in the real estate industry expect that a lack of willing buyers will make for a fragile housing market for the remainder of 2025. Article content Data from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) showed an increase in listings, slightly higher month-over-month sales and lower average prices for June. Article content Article content ' I don't think we are bouncing back, the pendulum isn't swinging back. We're just kind of in a holding pattern,' said Scott Ingram, a Toronto sales representative with Century 21 Regal Realty Inc. 'No matter how you look at price, whether you take average price or the home price index, those are softer than they were last year.' Article content A total of 6,243 homes were sold in June 2025 across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), marking a 2.4 per cent decrease from last year. New listings rose 7.7 per cent from last year to 19,839. Article content The MLS Home Price Index (HPI) composite benchmark fell 5.5 per cent year over year in June, while the average selling price of $1,101,691 was down 5.4 per cent compared with June 2024. On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, both the MLS HPI and average price edged lower from May. Article content Article content TRREB president Elechia Barry-Sproule said improved affordability from lower borrowing costs and the high levels of inventory were making home ownership 'a more attainable goal for many households.' Article content Article content But some realtors were reluctant to call it a rebound. Daniel Foch, chief real estate officer at Valery Real Estate Inc. in Toronto, said an increase in transactions is what signals a recovery, not necessarily just a drop in price. Article content ' What realtors see as a form of recovery would be more transactions. More downside on price means more transactions because if prices come down, more buyers can afford to buy those homes,' Foch said. Article content However, the recovery has not started, he said, and predicted July and August will be 'slow months' before the market has any chance of picking up in the fall.
Time of India
12-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Home prices rise in some cities, drop in others: How Canada's property market is shifting after the trade war
People across Canada who are planning to purchase a home can enter the market as uncertainty around the trade war has started to ease, with prices dropping in certain areas. Some cities, however, remain robust with strong prices, according to an RBC economist. According to the statistics of the local real estate board, there was a modest increase in the number of transactions between May and June 2025 in several major markets, including Vancouver, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon, Toronto, and Halifax. The gains recorded, however, constitute a fraction of pullbacks earlier this year. 'When you look at various metrics, you know buyers now have much more of a stronger hand when negotiating prices,' CTV News quoted Robert Hogue, assistant chief economist for RBC, as saying. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Golfer Ollie Schniederjans Scores A Surprise Four-Shot Victory Golf Asia Read More Undo The MLS Home Price Index (HPI) dropped in Toronto, Vancouver, southern Ontario, and Lower Mainland markets, CTV News reported. Inventory in these markets has risen to historically high levels, and buyers are facing stretched affordability conditions. 'Markets in southern Ontario, as well as B.C., are soft; however, it looks like, over the last couple of months, the slide in activity appears to be now stabilizing, so things don't look like they're getting any softer from an activity perspective,' Hogue said. Live Events 'But prices continue to fall in those markets. That's likely because of a stretch of affordability that's holding back a lot of buyers who can't get up prices in the current context, and the fact that those markets are heavily in favour of buyers. At this point, there's a lot of competition between sellers and less between buyers, so those markets are seeing price declines,' he added. Meanwhile, in several other cities, the value of property continues to be on the higher side. These markets include the Prairies, Quebec, and the Atlantic region, supported by still tight (and, in some cases, very tight) supply-demand conditions. 'In other parts of the country, the situation is different,' said Hogue. 'We've seen some correction during the spring in the face of the trade war; that affected confidence across the board. But the level of activity, in most cases—I'm thinking in particular in the prairies, either in Saskatchewan or in Alberta—to a fair extent, not everywhere, but to a fair extent, the level of activity is still pretty robust. When you compare it to pre-pandemic levels, it's sort of the same situation in markets like Montreal, for example. Now we've seen a bit of a slowdown lately, but nonetheless, the level is still, I would argue, pretty comparable relative to the pre-pandemic level,' he added. Buyers in Toronto have bargaining power In Toronto, buyers have plenty of options, a situation not seen in the city in decades, as the number of homes for sale continues to surge. The trend favours buyers and gives them more time to make decisions and negotiate. Toronto's MLS HPI in June 2025 was down 5.5 per cent (or more than $58,000) year over year and lower by 0.9 per cent from May, according to CTV News. Condo apartments saw the largest drop, falling eight per cent because of an abundant supply, but every housing type experienced some loss in value. Sellers are holding back in Montreal According to RBC, Montreal's recovery has stalled this year because of the trade war. The bank estimates that resales dropped for the third consecutive month between May and June, falling by about two per cent. Still, resales are staying at levels that would have been considered strong before the pandemic. Prices see downtrend in Vancouver As far as Vancouver is concerned, the slide in resales in Vancouver is stabilizing, though prices remain firmly on a downward track. According to CTV News, Vancouver's MLS HPI declined 2.8 per cent from a year ago (2024), marking the fourth straight month of annual declines. The supply and demand situation in the city is favouring the buyers, giving them control amid rising inventories. Active listings reached a 13-year high in June, yet home resales rose for the first time this year, up more than two per cent in May.
Vancouver Sun
19-06-2025
- Business
- Vancouver Sun
'Disappointing at best': Vancouver real estate prices falling, but sales slow
House prices have fallen more in Metro Vancouver than in the rest of the country, but that has not necessarily translated into increased sales. The average house prices in Greater Vancouver fell to $1.2 million in April from $1.3 million in April 2024, a 6.6 per cent decline. By comparison, Greater Toronto had a 4.2 per cent decline in prices in the same period, according to Zoocasa, a real estate listing site and company, which analyzed monthly benchmark prices released by the Canadian Real Estate Association. Nationally, there was an average 3.5 per cent drop. The most significant price drops in Metro Vancouver were in eastern Burnaby, where the benchmark price fell seven per cent from May 2024 to May 2025 to $1.09 million. West Vancouver saw a six per cent drop to $2.49 million, and Richmond saw a 5.2 per cent decline to $1.13 million. Stay on top of the latest real estate news and home design trends. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Westcoast Homes will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Meanwhile, the number of sales, year-over-year, is still falling here and in some other markets, but nationally, there were early signs that the number of sales may be increasing. In May, residential sales in Metro Vancouver totalled only 2,228, a sharp 18.5 per cent drop year-over-year and more than 30 per cent below the 10-year average. Across the country, home sales fell a more moderate 4.3 per cent, year-over-year, in May, according to the real estate association. But they were up 3.6 per cent from April to May, the first month-over-month increase at the national level in more than six months, driven largely by the Toronto and Calgary markets. The senior economist at the Canadian Real Estate Association, which represents hundreds of thousands of real estate agents, boards and associations, was careful to say the national trend of sales and prices is only based on one month of data. Real estate boards use what is known as the MLS Home Price Index, which is a benchmark price that tracks so-called typical homes in different categories. Homes are chosen yearly for being 'in the middle of the pack' when it comes to quantitative attributes, such as above-ground square footage or number of rooms, and having qualitative features, such as a fireplace or access to a garage. Boards prefer this index since taking an average of sale prices in an area in a given month to calculate how much they have increased or decreased can be skewed if there is a large sale or an unusual one. However, using the average of sale prices is a closer indicator of what is happening in real time in a market. Real estate agents in Metro Vancouver note there are additional factors when thinking about home prices and the overall market. Surrey-based real estate agent Mayur Arora said that real estate board benchmark and average prices don't include sales of new units, mostly condos and townhomes. Some developers have been discounting prices of these to move them, and including these would give a truer snapshot of overall market prices. Everyone is looking for signs of what will motivate buyers who have been sitting on the sidelines, said Arora. 'Spring has been disappointing at best. It feels like being in a swimming pool and you can't touch the bottom, but your toe can feel that this is it soon,' he said, explaining that buyers want to know that prices have stabilized before buying, which may be why sales are down or flat even though prices have fallen. Vancouver real estate agent Kevin Banno recently put a North Vancouver home on Delbrook Avenue under contract for about $300,000 over its asking price of $1.999 million. He thought the large lot with views, but a rundown, vacant home on a street with much more expensive homes worth between $4 million to $6 million might draw a builder or developer. Banno received eight offers all over the asking price, an indication of how the market is eager to buy certain properties and how much money there is sitting on the sidelines for these, said Arora. This isn't the case for other listings where there is a lot of selection of the same kind of product, said Banno. 'There's no urgency. If it's a duplex on a single-family lot on the east side or the west side, it's just crickets. You get the classic line, 'I loved it and I have 12 more to see.'' jlee-young@
