Canadian households have seen their budgets significantly curtailed by sharply rising borrowing costs over the past year
The impact of elevated interest rates is likely to last much longer than many would expect, warned Shubha Dasgupta of Pineapple.
For the rest of 2023, “we’re probably going to see activity at a level [where] it is today, at the base level,” Dasgupta said in a recent interview with Canadian Mortgage Professional.
The housing market’s slowdown is continuing unabated, if figures from the Canadian Real Estate Association are any indication.
Home sales decelerated by 4.1% on a monthly basis in August, with seasonally adjusted sales totalling 38,345 units last month. This accompanied a noticeable drop in the seasonally adjusted average price of a home, which declined by 2.3% monthly to $674,184.
“Although we’ve seen some uncertainty in the markets, we’re very proud of where Pineapple has been in the face of that adversity,” says Pineapple President and CEO Shubha Dasgupta.https://t.co/hHujPOd9sR#mortgagenews #businessgrowth #mortgagebroker #brokernetworks
— Canadian Mortgage Professional Magazine (@CMPmagazine) June 14, 2023
Canadian households have seen their budgets significantly curtailed by sharply rising borrowing costs over the past year, with many electing to simply return to the sidelines and hope for more favourable conditions.
“People who need to buy homes and who need to transact, are still buying homes and transacting — but those who have a little bit more ability to wait are probably going to wait and see until there's a little more certainty and the market,” the Pineapple CEO predicted.
“I don’t expect any drastic changes to happen between now and the end of the year. I’m expecting it to stay fairly status quo and stable,” he said, but he stressed that at the same time, he is also “really looking forward to see what 2024 holds.”
“I hope that the economy can re-stabilize itself. I hope we can get some good news in terms of inflation numbers, unemployment figures, and other things that can impact interest rates.”
Watch now: Mortgage market updates with Pineapple CEO
