Home buyers and sellers now know that the key interest rate will be remaining steady for the time being, or at least until the Bank of Canada's next meeting September 4th. This is the 6th time in a row that the Bank has decided to maintain the overnight rate citing a sluggish economy and global trade tensions. The Bank positively noted that "Recent data show the Canadian economy is returning to potential growth ... however, the outlook is clouded by persistent trade tensions.

While Canada’s low mortgage rates began to creep up at the end of 2016, mortgagors have been happy to see them remain relatively unchanged since then. However, the March Mortgage Rate Forecast recently released by the BC Real Estate Association suggests that those days may be coming to an end. Citing a stronger Canadian economy and “a large degree of policy incoherence” in the United States, the report predicts an increase in mortgage rates throughout the second half of 2017.