Canadian home prices continue to rise

Globe and Mail- Canadian home prices are still on the rise even as sales fall as demand peters out, one factor that is making homes less and less affordable, according to a study by the Conference Board of Canada.

Home sales have fallen by 25 per cent since reaching a peak at the beginning of the year as fewer buyers compete and more houses come onto the market. That hasn’t stopped houses from becoming more expensive, a trend that is likely to continue, said conference board associate director Michael Burt…

Canadian home prices continue to rise – The Globe and Mail

Are Big Banks jumping the gun?

The Globe and Mail- Interest rates are rising – we all get that – but it looks like the Big Banks are pushing things a bit with mortgages.

After a pair of increases in the past two weeks, the posted Big Bank five-year fixed mortgage rate now stands at 6.25 per cent. Does that seem high? In fact, it’s just half a percentage point below the average level for the past decade.

We’re supposed to be in the early phase of what could be a long cycle of rate increases. The Bank of Canada hasn’t even started raising its overnight rate, which sets the trend for borrowing costs other than fixed-rate mortgages. The overnight rate could very well start rising June 1 (that’s the central bank’s next rate-setting date), but even then it’s not dead certain that rates will move…

Are Big Banks jumping the gun? – The Globe and Mail

Housing starts drop unexpectedly

 Times Colonist, Victoria, BC – “This was a fairly disappointing report, and it suggests that the buoyancy that has been seen in the past two months in this segment of the housing market hasn’t gained much traction, clouding an otherwise positive tone in Canadian housing market activity,” said TD Securities economic strategist Millan Mulraine…

Housing starts drop unexpectedly