Canada’s housing market has been on a roll for years, but the Bank of Canada’s aggressive path of interest rate hikes and the possibility of a recession are ushering in a new economic reality that is beginning to weigh on mortgage demand, industry watchers say.
David Larock, a mortgage broker and president of Toronto-based Integrated Mortgage Planners Inc., said he is definitely seeing a drop-off in business in light of the new conditions, but said he’s seeing different effects when it comes to refinances versus new purchases.
“Typically, up until very recently, about half of the business I was getting was refinances and half was purchases — and of course, both have been impacted by higher rates,” Larock said. “But… I would say the most significant impact thus far I’ve seen has been on refinances.”
Larock said this is because for a while, clients looking to…
