'Things just keep getting more expensive': B.C. residents brace for another interest rate hike
With the Bank of Canada increasing its overnight lending rate 25 basis points, some Vancouver residents voiced their concerns regarding housing affordability.
"A down payment's one obstacle, but higher interest rates are just going to be another obstacle," Marc Pitcher, a Vancouver resident currently hunting for a home.
"I mean we're already the most expensive place to live," Rony Habooshesh, a fellow Vancouver resident. "Who can live in Vancouver anymore?"
The Bank of Canada made the move citing 'stubbornly high' inflation levels. The increase is the first hike since January as rates have hit the highest point since 2001.
"I do think it's important for us to all bear in mind the destination," said federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.
"The destination is stable, low inflation and steady, strong growth."
The feds are also citing a national housing market that's recently picked up steam. B.C., Canada's priciest housing market, also bounced back leading the way in the national trend.
"Household debt in B.C. is a lot higher than other provinces, a lot of that is because home prices are higher and people have to take on higher mortgages," said Brendon Ogmundson, chief economist with the BC Real Estate Association.
"So we are somewhat more interest rate sensitive in B.C. compared to other provinces, so when the rates go up we should expect that our economy is going to feel it a bit more."
Ogmundson cautions that the impacts of the rate increases will be more noticeable in the next few years when homeowners on fixed-term mortgages will be forced to renew with the higher rate.
Meanwhile, the increase is good news for some.
"I'm thrilled, absolutely," said retiree Eric Wickham, who worked as a commercial fisherman. "I'm 80 years old and retired and have to live off my interest income and it's been terrible over the past few years, it's been starvation."
The next update from the Bank of Canada on if we could see another rate hike is slated for July 12.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit natural gas levies to the federal government, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
'We hoped for this day, but we were scared that it would not never ever come because it took so long.' That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.
North Bay doctor accused of assaulting patient, threatening another
A North Bay doctor is facing charges after allegedly assaulting a patient with a weapon and threatening another person at the hospital, police say.