It’s hard to believe that we are now in the year 2020, yet still no flying cars.  What gives?   Still, we have seen some great technological advances in the last decade, along with some of the lowest mortgage rates in history.   

So what can we expect as we enter 2020? 

We rounded out 2019 with some increases to fixed mortgage rates, but will we continue to see them rise?  I would say this is doubtful.   

The American economy continues to slow.  The US/China trade war continues, and to throw fuel on the fire, the US is now looking to add tariffs on European imports.  Not to mention, being on the brink of war with Iran. 

The US economy has a direct influence on the Canadian market, and until we see more stability in the US, mortgage rates will remain low.  Regardless of the recent increases to fixed mortgage rates, I would not expect them to start surging anytime soon.  The next scheduled rate announcement from the Bank of Canada is on January 22nd where there is a good chance that we will see a rate drop.  

Right.  

We’ve heard that before, and we’ve been waiting for it since spring of 2019. 

Whether it happens or not remains to be seen. Either way, I would expect to see a rate drop in the first quarter of 2020.  As soon as the Bank of Canada gives even a slight hint of a possible cut, we’ll likely see fixed mortgages rates drop… however I would not expect anything significant.  Anything can happen of course. 

Low mortgage rates will continue to fuel the real estate market, so I would expect it to remain strong throughout 2020.  We’ll always have our fair share of doom and gloomers, however they’ve been going off about a major Canadian real estate crash since 2006.  Eventually… they’ll be right, but who knows how long that will take before they can start bragging about the accuracy of their predictions?   There is also nothing to say that Toronto and Vancouver will not become another New York or LA, two areas that made it through the major real estate crash of 2007/2008.  

All the uncertainty in the global economy will keep mortgage rates low, and as long as rates are low, the real estate market will remain strong. 

 

 

“Paul Meredith is the author of the Amazon #1 best selling book, Beat the Bank – How to Win The Mortgage Game in Canada, and has ranked as one of the top 75 mortgage brokers in Canada since 2016. He was a finalist for Mortgage Broker of the Year in 2018, and can be seen as the exclusive mortgage broker on season two of TV’s Top Million Dollar Agent.”