The Bank of Canada is expected to announce its key interest rate decision in less than two weeks. Last month, the bank lowered its key interest rate to 4.7 per cent, marking its first rate cut since March 2020.
CTV Morning Live asked Jason Pilon, broker of Record Pilon Group, whether now is the right time to buy or sell your home.
When it comes to the next interest rate announcement, Pilon says the bank might either lower it further, or just keep it as is.
“The best case scenario we’re seeing is obviously a quarter point. I think more just because of the job numbers that just came out, I think more people are just leading on the fact that they probably just gonna do it in September,” he said. “Either way, what we saw in June, didn’t make a big difference.”
Pilon suggests locking in the rate right now, if you don’t want to take a risk with interest rates going up in the future.
He says the environment is more predictable right now, noting that the home values are transparent, which is one of the benefits for home sellers.
“Do you want to risk looking at what that looks like down the road? Or do you want to have the comfort in knowing what your house is worth right now?” Pilon said.
And when it comes to buyers, he notes, the competition is not so fierce right now, noting that there are options to choose from.
“You’re in the driver seat right now,” he said while noting the benefits for buyers.
He says one of the cons would be locking in the rate right now, then seeing a rate cut in the future.
The competition could potentially become fierce, if the bank decides to cut the rate further more, he explained.
He notes that if that happens, the housing crisis will become even worse, as Canada is still dealing with low housing inventory.
An increase in competition would increase the prices of houses, he adds.
Selling or buying too quickly isn’t the best practice, he notes, suggesting that you should take your time and put some thought into it.
Despite all the pros and cons, Pilon says, real estate remains a good investment.
According to the latest Royal LePage House Price Survey for the second quarter of this year, the average home price in Canada is $824,300. That’s up 1.9 per cent from the same time last year, and up 1.5 per cent from the first quarter of 2024.
In the Ottawa Housing Market Report for June 2024, the average price of a home was up 2.4 per cent from this time last year to $686,535, but down 0.6 per cent from May 2024.
Experts believe many potential buyers are still hesitant of jumping into the housing market and waiting for another interest rate cut of 50 to 100 basis points.
“I don’t think it’s going to be the rush that we see in the past, because people are used to more of a conservative approach right now,” said Curtis Fillier, president of the Ottawa Real Estate Board. “I think there’s still a bit of a hold back, but I definitely do think with another rate cut, we’ll probably see a very positive fall market.”
With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Kimberly Fowler
