Today's Interest Rate Hike By The Bank of Canada And What it Means To You

The Bank of Canada has raised its benchmark interest rate for the first time
since 2007. The modest, and much anticipated 0.25% increase makes Canada
the first of the G-7 to raise rates, however borrowing rates remain
extremely low. I've had a number of calls today from friends asking about
the effect on the housing market. When you break the increase down into
dollars and cents, for every $100,000 you have borrowed for your variable
mortgage, you will pay approximately $12 more per month. The Bank of Canada's mandate has always been to keep inflation in check at
the 2% mark, and they are saying inflation is unfolding as expected and that
spillover from the European debt crisis has been limited. There still is
considerable uncertainty about an "increasingly uneven" global recovery.

The Bank of Canada stated that "The required rebalancing of global growth
has not yet materialized". The imbalance is highlighted by some markets
showing strong momentum with regard to recovery and then economies such as
the United States and Japan remaining heavily dependent on low interest
rates and government spending. While Europe is in a state of renewed
weakness and facing drastic spending cuts and higher borrowing costs, the
effects of the crisis on Canada have been limited to a modest fall in
commodity prices and relatively tighter financial conditions. The Canadian
economy, posted an astounding 6.1-per-cent annualized growth rate for the
first quarter - the fastest in more than a decade. The Canadian economy is of course led by a hot housing market, higher
incomes and labour-market recovery that have helped fuel consumer spending.
Since summer of 2009, Canada's unemployment rate has dropped from 8.7% to
8.1% and is poised to dip below 8% by the end of summer 2010. With the HST
being introduced in July, this will add 0.6% to the Consumer Price Index and
the bank has suggested that household spending, and the economy, will slow a
bit in the coming months as consumers deal with higher borrowing costs and
try to limit or reduce their debt loads and as government stimulus spending
fades. In a statement on the move, however, Mr. Carney and his rate-setting panel
sought to emphasize that investors should not necessarily interpret the
increase as the first in an uninterrupted series. Mark Carney stated that
"This decision still leaves considerable monetary stimulus in place,
consistent with achieving the 2 per cent inflation target in light of the
significant excess supply in Canada, the strength of domestic spending and
the uneven global recovery." "Given the considerable uncertainty surrounding
the outlook, any further reduction of monetary stimulus would have to be
weighed carefully against domestic and global economic developments."

Getting back to the $12 increase per $100,000 you have on your mortgage.
Contact me to find out you can cut 10-12 years OFF your mortgage interest
and save tens of thousands of dollars. Our "HOME-FREE" Program will have
your mortgage paid off sooner, and the impact of future rate hikes will be
even less than the small hike today. J

Asif Khan, Realtor

Re/Max All-Stars Realty Inc.

Google me: Asif Khan Re/Max

Follow me on Twitter Become a Fan on Facebook

The Bank of Canada has raised its benchmark interest rate for the first time
since 2007. The modest, and much anticipated 0.25% increase makes Canada
the first of the G-7 to raise rates, however borrowing rates remain
extremely low. I've had a number of calls today from friends asking about
the effect on the housing market. When you break the increase down into
dollars and cents, for every $100,000 you have borrowed for your variable
mortgage, you will pay approximately $12 more per month. The Bank of Canada's mandate has always been to keep inflation in check at
the 2% mark, and they are saying inflation is unfolding as expected and that
spillover from the European debt crisis has been limited. There still is
considerable uncertainty about an "increasingly uneven" global recovery.

The Bank of Canada stated that "The required rebalancing of global growth
has not yet materialized". The imbalance is highlighted by some markets
showing strong momentum with regard to recovery and then economies such as
the United States and Japan remaining heavily dependent on low interest
rates and government spending. While Europe is in a state of renewed
weakness and facing drastic spending cuts and higher borrowing costs, the
effects of the crisis on Canada have been limited to a modest fall in
commodity prices and relatively tighter financial conditions. The Canadian
economy, posted an astounding 6.1-per-cent annualized growth rate for the
first quarter - the fastest in more than a decade. The Canadian economy is of course led by a hot housing market, higher
incomes and labour-market recovery that have helped fuel consumer spending.
Since summer of 2009, Canada's unemployment rate has dropped from 8.7% to
8.1% and is poised to dip below 8% by the end of summer 2010. With the HST
being introduced in July, this will add 0.6% to the Consumer Price Index and
the bank has suggested that household spending, and the economy, will slow a
bit in the coming months as consumers deal with higher borrowing costs and
try to limit or reduce their debt loads and as government stimulus spending
fades. In a statement on the move, however, Mr. Carney and his rate-setting panel
sought to emphasize that investors should not necessarily interpret the
increase as the first in an uninterrupted series. Mark Carney stated that
"This decision still leaves considerable monetary stimulus in place,
consistent with achieving the 2 per cent inflation target in light of the
significant excess supply in Canada, the strength of domestic spending and
the uneven global recovery." "Given the considerable uncertainty surrounding
the outlook, any further reduction of monetary stimulus would have to be
weighed carefully against domestic and global economic developments."

Getting back to the $12 increase per $100,000 you have on your mortgage.
Contact me to find out you can cut 10-12 years OFF your mortgage interest
and save tens of thousands of dollars. Our "HOME-FREE" Program will have
your mortgage paid off sooner, and the impact of future rate hikes will be
even less than the small hike today. J

Asif Khan, Realtor

Re/Max All-Stars Realty Inc.

Google me: Asif Khan Re/Max

Follow me on Twitter Become a Fan on Facebook