May 2024 saw 8,075 home sales in BC, a decrease of 11.6 per cent from May 2023. The average price is down to $1 million. Check out our May 2024 Stats Release here: https://bit.ly/3RsSpul

The Bank of Canada finally gave many of us some good news, dropping the overnight rate by .25% to 4.75%.  This will trigger the banks to drop their prime rate by .25% down to 6.95% from 7.20%, reducing interest and in some cases payments for all borrowers with variable rate mortgages.  This is the firs time the Bank of Canada has reduced rates in four years.

When does this take effect?

If you are in a fixed payment variable rate mortgage, than your payments will not change.  Instead, more of your payment will go towards principal and less towards interest.  Most of the major banks have a fixed payment variable rate product.  Scotia is one of the only banks that offers an adjustable payment variable rate mortgage and other lenders do as well including mortgage finance companies and some credit unions.

When does this take effect? 

If you are in a fixed payment variable mortgage, then your payments will not change. Instead, more of your payment will go towards principal and less towards interest. Most major banks have a fixed payment variable product.

If you are in a fixed payment variable mortgage, then your payments will not change. Instead, more of your payment will go towards principal and less towards interest. Most major banks have a fixed payment variable product.

How much of an impact is this?

Per $100,000, the interest cost will decrease by about $14 per month per $100,000, depending on the rate and amortization. For lines of credit, the decrease in payments will be about $21 per $100,000. 

How does this affect fixed rates?

Fixed rates and variable rates move independently, as fixed rates are highly correlated with the bond market. Typically the bond market prices in future decreases and has had a 50% decrease priced in for a few months now. On Friday, this ticked up due to some encouraging inflation numbers in both Canada and the US. With the move by the BoC today, along with some further weakening data coming from the US, the bond market dropped again resulting in .4% in decreases since Friday. Although we wouldn’t have expected much of a change in rates, the expectations for the next cut are moving forward and so the bond market is starting to assume rates will come down a bit more than expected.

When will the Bank of Canada drop next?

Well, this is the million dollar question, but currently the market is pricing in a 40% chance of a cut in July, a 100% cut by Sept and one more cut by Dec. This would mean in total .75% in cuts in 2024. The pendulum swings on this data quite frequently, so stay tuned on future changes to these predictions.

What is better - variable or fixed?

Technically variable has been either pricing out as the same or better since September of last year. With the first cut now “in the bank”, we will be updating our variable vs fixed comparison tool but we expect variable to outperform a fixed over the next 3 years. As of right now, a variable is expected to cost about $7,000 less over 3 years on a variable than on a fixed, but there are a number of reasons to still consider a fixed rate.

Summary

We are too early to tell if this is finally the beginning of a slow slide downwards, but it is at least a start. We will watch the market intently to see what occurs next as additional economic data becomes available.

Reviewed on Jun 07, 2024 by Jordan and Michelle

Rated 5 stars out of 5

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5 out of 5

Wendy was a fantastic agent for us. She must be the hardest working agent in the business. We spent more than a year looking at various properties in and around Vancouver. Wendy was always happy to arrange showings and attend with us - for months! She is incredibly responsive to any form of communication. She's very knowledgeable about all things on both sides of the market. She helped us sell our condo and got us into a new home. It was a pleasure working with Wendy. 

You've helped to buy my property

Did you get the home value you desired from this transaction?

Yes

Would you use this professional again?

Yes

Are you aware of any factors that were beyond the control of your Agent?

No

Neighbourhood Knowledge

Did your real estate agent help you learn about your neighbourhood you sold, rented or purchased in?

5/5

Experience

How well did your professional guide you through the real estate process?

5/5

Professionalism

Did your real estate agent present themselves and the properties in a professional manner?

5/5

Negotiation Skills

Did your real estate agent offer advice on negotiation? Were they able to negotiate successfully on your behalf?

5/5

Property Knowledge

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5/5

Communications Skills

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5/5

The current rules require that one-half of capital gains be included in income for taxation purposes. As of June 25, while that inclusion rate remains in place for gains of up to $250,000 realized on the sale of assets during a year in total, two-thirds of gains beyond that level will become taxable.

The Government of Canada has announced a two-year extension to an existing ban on foreign ownership of Canadian housing. The Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act (the Act) was set to expire at the end of 2024, it will now be extended to January 1, 2027.

BC home flipping tax 

The proposed BC home flipping tax applies to income from the sale of a property, including presale contracts, in British Columbia if the property was owned for less than 730 days.

The tax is imposed under the Residential Property (Short-Term Holding) Profit Tax Act, which takes effect starting January 1, 2025, subject to approval by the legislature.

Property purchased before the tax’s effective date may be subject to the tax if sold on or after January 1, 2025 and owned for less than 730 days unless an exemption applies.

The BC home flipping tax is separate and distinct from the federal property flipping rules and is not harmonized or administered with the federal or B.C. income tax. It is intended to discourage short-term holding of property for profit as part of the Homes for People Plan (PDF, 5.93MB).