Darren Brown- Mortgage Broker
6005 Gateway Blvd NW #161 T6H2H3 Edmonton, AB, Canada

Time to track Santa!

Happy Halloween

The Bank of Canada announced today that it is keeping the overnight rate steady at 0.25%. It is expected the Bank will keep this target unchanged until well into 2023 to aid our economic recovery. The Canadian economy is in recession with negative GDP growth, inflation is at zero, the Canadian dollar relative to the U.S. is stable at around $.76, oil prices are hovering around $40 - $43 U.S./barrel and unemployment is currently at 9%, another marked improvement from last mont...h. According to StatsCan and CMHC, 75% of the almost $200 Billion of mortgages that were deferred were from Canadians that are still working and took the deferral as a precautionary measure. This would support the argument that the massive wave of defaults on mortgages previously expected is likely to be avoided this winter. In addition, unemployment has been forecasted to rebound to 7.5% by the end of 2021. Cam Strong, CEO of Invis Mortgage Intelligence stated Most economists agree personal debt levels will likely worsen in 2021 and the hospitality sector will face record bankruptcies or closures. However, record low mortgage rates should continue to support our housing industry along with an improving employment outcome in 2021. Canadians have record high mortgage and consumer credit debt of $2.5 trillion according to Statistics Canada as of September, 2020 however, thanks to the Bank of Canada, the servicing costs on this debt is very low. The next rate-setting day is Wednesday, December 9th.

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