Mortgage memo

The US Federal Reserve – the American central bank counterpart to the Bank of Canada (BoC) – held its trend-setting federal funds rate unchanged in a range of 5.25 – 5.5% on May 1.

Despite steadily rising borrowing costs over the last two years, Canadian mortgage borrowers have been lauded for their ability to keep up with their payments – but new data shows cracks may be starting to form.

The promise of impending rate cuts in the new year have greatly cheered markets in recent weeks, as central banks have taken a more dovish tone and economic data points to a slowdown.

Memo 1: Many Canadians are experiencing mortgage regret Steadily rising interest rates over the last 18 months have put the financial squeeze …

Memo 1: Canadian May GDP comes in softer than expected It appears tougher interest rates are starting to cycle their way through the economy, …

Memo 1: A (temporary) rate hold from the US Fed A surprise pause from the US Federal Reserve (the American counterpart to Canada’s central bank) …