'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
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.