The Bank of Canada’s decision to hike rates on Wednesday will put additional pressure on Canada’s already tight rental market, experts say.
“We’re going to see the biggest impact of today’s hike in the rental market,” John Pasalis, president of Realosophy Realty, told BNN Bloomberg in an interview on Wednesday.
Pasalis explained that people looking to rent a condo right now, or those who have been displaced by the sale of an investment property, are the most vulnerable in this environment as the space becomes more crowded.
“Today’s rate hike is going have a psychological effect that will keep homebuyers on the sidelines as they wait for rates to come down – meaning more people will now compete for a rental unit,” he added.
While the BoC isn’t responsible for sky-high rents, these interest rate hikes will make any type of housing affordability more challenging, Pasalis said.
In addition to putting more cost pressure on the rental market, the rate hikes also hinder housing supply, one realtor explained.
“These rising rates are acting as a blockage for more properties to come online as people hold off on selling or buying homes in an uncertain interest rate environment,” Phil Soper, president and chief executive officer of Royal LePage, told BNN Bloomberg in an interview on Wednesday. …[Continue Reading]