More interest rate cuts on the way?
Things are looking up again for home buyers in Alberta, with inflation slowing in a national level, this means we could be in for another interest rate reduction! Home buyers are starting to take a serious look at buying after the market slowdown for the winter.
Canada's inflation rate falls to 2.2 per cent in January, helped by GST cut
Julian Beltrame, THE CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA - Canada's inflation rate continued its downward slide in January, dropping 0.2 percentage point to 2.2 per cent and giving the Bank of Canada more room to cut interest rates next month.
Statistics Canada said Tuesday the year-over-year rise in the consumer price index was the smallest since August, largely as a result of the stronger Canadian dollar and the one-percentage-point drop in the federal goods and services tax on Jan. 1.
adtag.display(72);
Core inflation, excluding volatile food and energy prices, declined for the seventh straight month to 1.4 per cent, from 1.5 per cent in December.
The Canadian dollar was down 0.26 cent to 98.98 cents US at midmorning, as the slowing pace of inflation gives the central bank more reasons to cut interest rates to stimulate the economy, something new governor Mark Carney suggested Monday was uppermost in the bank's thinking.
The big question is not if rates will come down, but by how much.
"We continue to look for a 50-basis-point cut by the Bank of Canada on March 4," said Scotiabank economist Karen Cordes.
But Douglas Porter of the Bank of Montreal said the bank may continue to go slow on rate reductions. He forecasts a 25-basis-point drop to 3.75 per cent next month.
"It's a close call and frankly I can see the other arguments," he said. "The manufacturing numbers and exports were very weak last week, but the job market is still quite healthy and wage pressures are rising meaningfully. There's still a lot of inflationary pressures out there."
All in all, it looks like home buyers have another good reason to buy into real estate now.
It's a great opportunity for first time buyers to get into homes with low interest on mortgage payments! It's also a good time to consider exiting early from a current higher rate mortgage and enter into a variable or fixed rate mortgage at a lower rate AND use their equity to buy before the propertry prices swing up again.
Moving in and moving up are great ideas with property values on a long term up swing, comined with low interest rates!
Call your local real estate teal who is Deeply Rooted in Sturgeon County
Patrick and Rick Milligan 1.888.921.0303
And visit us online at www.sturgeonhomes.ca