The housing market’s sluggishness will almost certainly persist for the foreseeable future, according to Dawn Desjardins, chief economist at Deloitte Canada.
“I think we’re seeing the impact of higher interest rates on the economy, especially during the second quarter,” Desjardins said in an interview with the Financial Post.
“We did see a decline in GDP output – a very small decline, but nonetheless, much leaner than what we saw in the first quarter of the year.”
Desjardins is anticipating the effects of this economic lethargy – particularly on Canadians’ purchasing power – to reverberate for a prolonged period.
“This slower momentum is going to persist as we round out 2023, and into early 2024,” she said. “Higher rates are certainly having an impact on consumers; they have elevated levels of debt on their balance sheets. And that is going to cramp their ability to spend on goods and services.”
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