Latest news with #RoyalLePage
CTV News
a day ago
- Business
- CTV News
Royal LePage CEO reacts to interest rate hold: ‘Overall, it's not a bad decision'
Royal LePage CEO reacts to interest rate hold: 'Overall, it's not a bad decision' Royal LePage CEO Phil Soper breaks down what the interest rate hold means for mortgages, buyers, and the real estate market.
CTV News
a day ago
- Business
- CTV News
‘Stability is never a bad thing': Mortgage experts welcome hold on interest rates
Mortgage specialists are welcoming a hold on interest rates from the Bank of Canada particularly as a trade war continues to brew between Canada and the United States. The Bank of Canada maintained its key interest rate at 2.75 per cent Wednesday, for the third consecutive decision citing a lack of clarity around tariffs. 'Stability is never a bad thing for business confidence, for stock markets or for the housing industry,' Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage told in a Wednesday interview. 'I believe more people will be getting comfortable with the current environment and potentially getting off the fence if their family does need to change or upgrade their housing situation.' Economists expected the central bank to hold off from cutting interest rates this month suggesting Canadians continue to face underlying price pressures in the economy. 'The fundamentals that drive the housing industry are actually quite strong,' said Soper. 'Employment is steady. It even improved a little bit last month. Inflation is under control. Savings are high, even business confidence inched up a little bit from those, early tariff friction weeks lows. It's an issue of uncertainty that's keeping people out of the housing market, not the structural nature of affordability or employment or the cost of borrowing.' Impact on fixed and variable mortgages The central bank doesn't set mortgage rates, but it does have an influence. Changes in the policy interest rate would lead to similar changes in short-term interest rates, including the prime rate, which is used by the banks as a basis for pricing variable-rate mortgages. With the central bank holding the interest rate, borrowing rates on many financial products, such as loans and mortgages, are unchanged, according to TD. When the central bank does cut its lending rate, it can become cheaper to borrow money conversely, when the rate goes up, it can become more expensive. As the central bank holds its lending rate steady, Canadians with both variable rate mortgages and fixed rate mortgages, can expect their payments to remain status quo. 'We may see 10 to 20 basis points improvement in fixed rates, the very popular five-year fixed rate mortgage by the end of the year, but not particularly material on variable rates, which are tied directly to the bank rate,' said Soper. 'I believe we'll see, call it 50 basis points improvement, half a percentage point by year end. But again, that is predicated on some certainty with where we're going in the trade relationship with America. If things continued to be unresolved, I believe the bank will continue to stay put.' Penelope Graham, mortgage expert for expects to see pressure added to fixed rate mortgages. She advises prospective and seasoned homeowners to take advantage of low rates by rate hold or pre-approval regardless of the type of mortgage. 'Whether or not you are coming up for renewal or you're shopping for your first mortgage rate, it's really important to be proactive and to do what you can now to guarantee access to today's interest rate environment,' Graham said to in a Wednesday interview. 'Today's rate hold means that variable mortgage rates aren't going to change. They're going to stay stagnant until, you know, the foreseeable future, but we are seeing upward pressure building under fixed mortgage rates, and that's because bond yields have been quite elevated in recent months.' Graham said there has been quite a demand for buyers in the housing market but said if fresh tariff threats shake consumers, governments and policy makers, buying demand could freeze up again. 'If things continue the way that they have been in the past couple of months, we'll likely continue to see demand returning to the market,' said Graham. 'We know that there's a lot of pent-up demand, you know, coming off the end of 2024 it was expected that this is there's going to be quite a hot year for real estate. We knew that a lot of buyers had been kind of waiting out the tail end, because in 2024 what was preventing them from buying was high interest rates.' Slow recovery for Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) With interest rates steady for a third consecutive month, Soper expects investment in real estate to recover, particularly for shareholders in real estate investment trusts (REITS). 'Real estate investors were hurt by the post pandemic rise in inflation and accompanying rise in interest rates, combat inflation,' said Soper. 'With interest rates back down to normal levels and inflation under control, we're seeing a slow recovery in the investment marketplace. I would expect that it would continue slow and steady improvement, just as we're seeing in the housing market overall.' REITs pool funds from individual investors and use those funds to build a portfolio of real estate investments, according to TD. When you invest in a REIT, you're buying a share of that portfolio. REITs let you invest in real estate without having to buy, manage or finance real estate on your own, while providing a steady income steam.
Hamilton Spectator
18-07-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Help with down payment now essential for many homebuyers: survey
TORONTO - A new survey says financial help with a down payment is now essential for many homebuyers. Seven in 10 recent homebuyers say they could not have purchased their home without relying on family gifts, loans and other outside help, a Mortgage Professionals Canada survey published Thursday, found. 'Down payment assistance is no longer a backup plan — it's a requirement for many Canadians hoping to buy,' said Lauren van den Berg, president and CEO of Mortgage Professionals Canada, in a statement. The survey comes as many Canadians find themselves priced out of the housing market despite a decline in home prices and a string of Bank of Canada interest rate cuts over the past year. The report, which surveyed 2,000 Canadians, also found one in five homeowners who have an upcoming mortgage renewal feel anxious about what their new payments could look like. A Royal LePage report published in February estimated 1.2 million mortgages are up for renewal this year. Around 85 per cent of those were secured when the Bank of Canada's key policy rate sunk to historically low levels — at or below one per cent — during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Mortgage Professionals Canada survey found 68 per cent of borrowers said they prefer having a fixed-rate mortgage over a variable rate. Meanwhile, the report shows variable-rate holders were nearly twice as likely as fixed-rate borrowers to make extra payments. More than 70 per cent of homeowners also said they've either recently renovated or plan to renovate their homes, while a growing number say they would need to rely on rental income to help cover housing costs, the survey found. It also added 34 per cent of Canadians were highly concerned about rising mortgage fraud, up from 29 per cent from a year ago. Mortgage fraud 'artificially inflates home prices, and makes it more difficult for honest, hardworking Canadians who rely on legitimate income and savings to compete and enter the housing market,' said van den Berg. She said the agency has urged the government to enable income verification that's safe, fast, and fair. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 17, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
17-07-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Help with down payment now essential for many homebuyers: survey
TORONTO – A new survey says financial help with a down payment is now essential for many homebuyers. Seven in 10 recent homebuyers say they could not have purchased their home without relying on family gifts, loans and other outside help, a Mortgage Professionals Canada survey published Thursday, found. 'Down payment assistance is no longer a backup plan — it's a requirement for many Canadians hoping to buy,' said Lauren van den Berg, president and CEO of Mortgage Professionals Canada, in a statement. The survey comes as many Canadians find themselves priced out of the housing market despite a decline in home prices and a string of Bank of Canada interest rate cuts over the past year. The report, which surveyed 2,000 Canadians, also found one in five homeowners who have an upcoming mortgage renewal feel anxious about what their new payments could look like. A Royal LePage report published in February estimated 1.2 million mortgages are up for renewal this year. Around 85 per cent of those were secured when the Bank of Canada's key policy rate sunk to historically low levels — at or below one per cent — during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Mortgage Professionals Canada survey found 68 per cent of borrowers said they prefer having a fixed-rate mortgage over a variable rate. Meanwhile, the report shows variable-rate holders were nearly twice as likely as fixed-rate borrowers to make extra payments. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. More than 70 per cent of homeowners also said they've either recently renovated or plan to renovate their homes, while a growing number say they would need to rely on rental income to help cover housing costs, the survey found. It also added 34 per cent of Canadians were highly concerned about rising mortgage fraud, up from 29 per cent from a year ago. Mortgage fraud 'artificially inflates home prices, and makes it more difficult for honest, hardworking Canadians who rely on legitimate income and savings to compete and enter the housing market,' said van den Berg. She said the agency has urged the government to enable income verification that's safe, fast, and fair. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 17, 2025.
CTV News
16-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
‘A downturn that is really starting to wreck havoc:' New condo sales in GTHA continue decline as developers cancel more projects
Condominiums and the CN Tower are shown along the Toronto skyline on Tuesday, April 25, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston The Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area new condominium market saw just 502 sales in the last quarter, prompting one real estate analysis firm to speak out about what it says is a 'downturn that is really starting to wreak havoc.' The number was included in Urbanation's latest report, released Tuesday. The firm said that the 502 new condominium units that changed hands in the second quarter marks a decline of 69 per cent compared to the same time period last year and represents a 91 per cent drop compared to the 10-year average. 'The market has entered a phase of the downturn that is really starting to wreak havoc. Project cancellations are mounting, construction starts are collapsing, jobs are being lost, buyers are losing a lot of money, and developers are facing difficulties with closings,' Urbanation President Shaun Hildebrand said in an analysis accompanying the data. The GTHA condo market has been sluggish for much of the past year, with a Royal LePage report released earlier this week showing that the median price of a GTHA condominium unit fell 5.6 per cent year-over-year to $699,700. The median price of a single-family detached home decreased 1.2 per cent year-over-year to $1,448,700, according to the same report. Urbanation said in its analysis that four proposed condominium buildings were cancelled in the second quarter alone, bringing the number of cancelled developments since the start of 2024 to 21. The firm said that the cancellations of those projects will result in the loss of 4,412 housing units. Developers also appear to be holding off on new projects, with Urbanation's data suggesting that only three projects started presales this quarter, representing just under 900 units. Inventory levels, however, continue to soar amid soft demand. 'The GTHA had a record-high 2,478 new condominium apartments that were completed and available for purchase from developers as of Q2-2025, a 102 per cent increase from a year ago and more than five times higher than the level from two years ago,' Urbanation said. Note that this figure doesn't fully account for all completed units that were pre-sold but the purchaser has yet to close. Meanwhile, sales by developers in completed new condo projects totalled 131 units in Q2-2025, resulting in 60 months of supply for standing inventory on the market.' The price per square foot of condos also saw a six per cent decline from last year and a 16 per cent drop from two years ago, Urbanation said. In his analysis, Hildebrand said that while an eventual reduction in the completion of new condominium buildings 'should help to alleviate some pressure, the near-term will remain very challenging' for the new condo market.
