The Canadian market, overall, has softened over the last couple of years. That softening was triggered by the federal government imposing rules that buyers seeking mortgages needed to qualify at a rate two percentage points above the one they would actually get. They put in the policy to prevent people being caught in unmanageable debt if rates started rising.
And then they increased interest rates, starting in mid-2017. Since then, they’ve raised them four more times, the last one in October, 2018.
Those measures, plus the disincentives they imposed on foreign buyers to keep them from driving up the market in these parts, had its intended effect.
The overheated market cooled down fairly quickly. But the heat wave did not just suddenly end. It had its ripple effects. Many who had been priced out of the Lower Mainland, moved out to the Valley or the Okanagan. Those who couldn’t afford those markets moved further afield. Hope got hot. Kamloops got hot.
In response to these pressures, Fraser Valley Rent 2 Own expanded our operational areas, as well. Last year we did several rent 2 owns in Merritt and Logan Lake, some of them from people moving from the Fraser Valley and the Okanagan. We get many applications from those areas, and areas even further afield.
Those markets are now hot, despite the tougher qualifying criteria and the elevated interest rates.
So, where is this all heading? To stay on top of the financial environment, I get daily information on economic factors affecting exchange rates, inflation, monetary policy, etc. Experts provide hard data on issues that affect the economy and insiders give their best guesses as to what to anticipate. |