Interest Rates - fears for the future

Michael Campbell is one of Canada's most respected economists, host of "MoneyTalks" radio show and my Verico mortgage network head economist. This excerpt is from his February report...

Interest Rates - You'd be forgiven for thinking that the government's motto is "if the stress test won't kill 'em, the rise in interest rates will." Three quarter point rises in the last 8 months and the promise is for more to come in both Canada & the US.

The Bank Of Canada continually says they are data driven and overall the data is positive. For the vast majority of analysts the debate isn't whether they will increase rates again but when? The ongoing NAFTA negotiations are still a concern, as is the impact on the real estate market  of the new stress test rules but the Bank has made clear they want to push rates higher.

My biggest concern is for mid and longer term rates to move significantly higher over the next three years throughout the world.   There is $230 trillion in debt worldwide and at some point that is going to be a big problem and investors are going to ask for a bigger risk premium in order to entice them to buy bonds, especially if the slight pick-up in inflation gains momentum. Those people with floating rate mortgages and other variable rate loans should be paying close attention.

The rest of Michael's report can be found at www.verico.ca/economicupdate_michaelcampbell_feb2018/

As a Mortgage Broker I would definitely suggest watching and considering locking in those variable rate loans and mortgages, sooner than later. If you are sitting on the fence about buying or refinancing a home now is still a pretty good time to do so, Rates are still low & house prices seem to have softened slightly in many of our local markets.  What are you waiting for?

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