While the Bank of Canada may be lowering interest rates, the move is not having an immediate effect on Canada‘s housing market, an economist at one of Canada’s biggest banks says.
“Markets’ reaction so far has been largely muted,” Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) Assistant Chief Economist Robert Hogue wrote in a recent blog post for the bank’s Thought Leadership Team.
“Early reports on August home sales showed only small increases from July in most markets, including Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Montreal. These came on the heels of mixed results in June and July. It will clearly take deeper rate cuts to stimulate demand in a material way, as buyers continue to contend with high ownership costs and poor affordability.”
Last week, the Bank of Canada cut its key lending ratefor the third time in a row, bringing the rate down to 4.25 per cent as inflation showed signs of coming under control. Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said …