CTV News – real estate and mortgage climates in Halifax right now – October 26, 2022

In this news hit on CTV news, Clinton Wilkins speaks to Bruce Frisko about what it’s looking like for people coming up on mortgage renewals and what you need to know on the real estate and mortgage climates in Halifax right now.

Don’t feel like watching the video? Check out the transcript below.

Transcript:

Todd Battis: [00:00:00:04] It’s expected the Bank of Canada will hike interest rates again tomorrow, making borrowing money more expensive and driving up the cost of a mortgage. It comes as sales are on the slide and homes are sitting longer on the market in the Maritimes. But as CTV’s Bruce Frisco tells us, experts insist it’s not a bad thing.

Bruce Frisko: [00:00:20:28] Directed at potential home sellers passing on busy roadways. These billboards from a Halifax real estate firm make a compelling argument and illustrate the unusual nature of the current market around here. Sales are definitely down, but prices remain on the high side.

Matt Honsberger from Royal LePage

Matt Honsberger: [00:00:39:17] We’re now seeing properties that are listed at 600,000 that are selling in and around $600,000.

Bruce Frisko: [00:00:44:14] No longer driven by out of control bidding wars. The Bank of Canada’s parade of interest rate hikes is now calling the shots.

Matt Honsberger: [00:00:53:10] So as we see rates rise, that’s where buyers start to say, well, I’m not sure about how aggressively I want to go anymore. Maybe I’ll wait to see what the impact is. And sellers do kind of the same thing.

Sales are down, but average price is up

Bruce Frisko: [00:01:02:24] It’s all reflected in the latest stats. 972 units sold in Nova Scotia last month, down almost 28% from the same month last year. The average price, though, is up 7.3% to $379,000. If that feels a bit like a paradox, experts say it’s not.

Matt Dauphinee from the Nova Scotia Association of Realtors

Matt Dauphinee: [00:01:25:17] The demand is still there.

Bruce Frisko: [00:01:27:27] Despite a soaring cost of living. The provincial Real Estate Association says homeownership remains a valid and valuable goal for most of us, and we’re more likely to find what we can afford now.

Matt Dauphinee: [00:01:40:05] It spreads the buyers into the price brackets that they expect to be in and expect the homes to sell in.

People coming up for renewals can be in a difficult situation

Clinton Wilkins: [00:01:45:18] I think it’s a dark time in real estate. I think it’s a dark time in mortgage lending, what we do every day.

Bruce Frisko: [00:01:50:22] Mortgage brokers admit business has slowed and there’s concern now for clients who may not be prepared for the new payments when their fixed terms expire.

Clinton Wilkins: [00:02:01:01] We are seeing consumers renewing into mortgage rates that are double what they had in their previous term.

Bank of Canada predicted to raise rates, again

Bruce Frisko: [00:02:08:14] All of it stretching affordability even further at a time where the unusual is the new normal. And of course, another aspect of this is the fact that properties are indeed staying on the market longer, sometimes a month or more, which of course was unheard of about a year ago. And as you mentioned, the Bank of Canada will announce its latest interest rate decision tomorrow. And the broad consensus is they are going up again, Todd.

Todd Battis: [00:02:37:07] Yeah, and we’ll certainly be watching that. We’ll report more on that tomorrow evening, of course. Thank you very much, Bruce Frisco in Halifax.

If you have any questions, get in touch with us at Clinton Wilkins Mortgage Team! You can call us at (902) 482-2770 or contact us here.