After months of speculation, the inevitable finally arrived at the beginning of March: the Bank of Canada announced the first hike to its benchmark policy rate of the COVID-19 pandemic era, bringing an end to nearly two years of rock-bottom low rates.
The move was the first of several anticipated rate increases for 2022, with the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) noting in its updated Resale Housing Market Forecast that those hikes were likely to play a significant role in impacting the country’s housing market this year and next.
The association said that nine Bank of Canada rate increases of 0.25% each appear plausible, if not likely, by the end of 2023, a trajectory that could have a potentially transformative impact on Canadians’ attitudes toward the housing market.
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