Bank of Canada Update: July 15th

Clinton Wilkins provides a July 15 market update following the Bank of Canada’s decision to hold the key overnight rate steady.

Clinton Wilkins
Good morning! So we’re running a little bit behind schedule today. So much on the go over here. I mean, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. Just working our little money maker, trying to get out all the news about the Bank of Canada and what’s going on. Today is July 15. The Bank of Canada just met, and they announced that they’re going to maintain the key overnight rate. I don’t think it was a big surprise to anybody who’s been following it. Obviously, lots on the go here, you know, with what’s going on with oil, inflation, the GDP, job numbers, so many things taking into account here. And you know, I think oil is just as volatile as it ever has been. You know, is there a deal? Is there not a deal? You know, what’s going on with the war? Is it on? Is it off? With the Strait, and you know, our ship’s going to continue moving, and that’s impacting us at home. I mean, it’s impacting us at the pumps, obviously, but it’s one of the biggest drivers for inflation, and that’s one thing, obviously, that the Bank of Canada is looking at now. The GDP had been low, but the last two announcements have been moving more in the right direction. You know, are we in a recession? Is it a technical recession? Are things moving as normal? Obviously, these are things that we’re going to continue to watch, and these are the things that are going to impact the decision that the bank candidate makes. You know we’re on a plateau, and I will assume we’re going to be on a plateau until further notice. And I think you can kind of take that as a little bit of solace. I think knowing it’s going to be the same, then we can start doing some planning and really know what is up. So that being said, I think the one thing that we need to take into consideration is, you know, variable rate mortgages are currently at a lower cost than fixed rates. Are you willing to take that risk if you’re doing a new mortgage today? A lot of consumers are, and we’re seeing a big uptick in consumers wanting to take a variable rate mortgage. I think primarily because it’s on a plateau, and the rate’s lower, and you have more flexibility. You know, if you were to break that mortgage early, it’s a penalty of only three months’ interest, and you can also convert your variable rate mortgage into a fixed rate if you need. Now, what’s going on in real estate in Halifax? Well, your guess is as good as mine. All I can tell you is that there are a lot more listings out there right now. I can tell you that we are typically in a balanced market right now. That’s what people are saying. But I think in certain areas and at certain price points, it’s almost becoming more of a buyer’s market. Buyers are having more power than sellers because there’s more inventory. Specifically, inventory over a million dollars. There is a stat out there right now that there are nine months or more of inventory of homes that are priced above a million dollars. That means that those homes are taking a long time to sell, and the buyers are in that power position where they can negotiate more with the seller and come to maybe a more common ground. I’m seeing more conditions in the offers. I’m seeing more conditions, longer condition dates, which is taking some of the pressure off, which is nice. I can tell you there definitely were fewer purchases in June. I’m telling you, we saw less, and I think we have a pretty good cross-section of the marketplace. But it’s very odd. I think it’s slightly delayed. We’re seeing more in July and more in August than we normally would in the summer. Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. 90-five-seven done. You should have seen my phone here last, you know, Tuesday. Let me tell you, they were on until two 215 Then it basically went dead air, and my phone blew up from basically 2 o’clock right straight through until the evening. Obviously, we’re not on.

I’m not going to be on with Dan today on the Bank of Canada. We don’t know what we’re gonna do, but we did record our show in July. Pride and Homeownership, we did it. It’s available on Spotify, Apple Music, on our social media, our website, and we’re gonna be putting out all those segments of the show throughout July. So you’re gonna be able to see it, and we’re working on potentially getting something going again for FM, so you’re gonna have to stay tuned. You guys will get the spoiler here on this live stream. You’ll hear before we hear anything else. I’m actually talking to Dan today, and we’re gonna try to make some plans on what we’re gonna do here for the rest of the year. Obviously, I’ve been doing this show for nine years. Mortgage 101. We’d love to keep the show going, and I also love to get out of the edge. That’s our primary reason we did that show. Yes, some clients call us. We do mortgages. Obviously, people enjoy the entertainment. They enjoy the education. They want to do business with us. Obviously, that’s not our primary reason for doing the show. But you know, I think it was a good kind of byproduct of that show. As you know, I did get some mortgages from that. So that’s motivating for me, and it took me out of my comfort zone. So we’re talking to some radio stations. I think that’s going to be very interesting, and I think we might hit a broader reach. You know, if we can get this back on, and you know, in that FM environment. Until then, we’re still going to do live streams. We’re still going to have stuff on Facebook. We’re still going to have stuff on our social media. We’ll have it on Apple Music and Spotify. So throw us a follow. Put your questions below. We’d love to jump on and answer it. Today is July 15. Bankana just met, announced no change to the key overnight rate, and Bankana is going to meet again in September. So we’ll be back with you and doing a live stream. And who knows? We might be back on the FF by then. Anyway, you guys stay tuned. Have a great summer. I’m actually taking a couple of weeks’ vacation here, starting on the weekend. I need a little break, but I’ll be back right after the August long weekend, and we’ll be back with you. And in the meantime, we have 20 people who work here on our team, and we’d love to help you with any of your needs. Thank you. For your continued support, and have a great summer. Stay safe, everyone, and we’ll chat soon.