Select Page

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″]

Short Version

Lower rates for longer is the initial prognosis.

Referendums: Just a flawed concept.

 

Long Version

While Canada is somewhat insulated from the direct economic consequences of Brexit, so little of CDN trade being with either the EU or Britain, it still seems a potential harbinger of a concerning trend towards an isolationist mindset, both economic and social.

 

It is a trend playing out on a smaller stage here in Vancouver, my own backyard, where xenophobia is raising its ugly head in real estate related sentiment. Ironic, considering that unless one is of First Nations descent then they themselves are likely the child, or grandchild (my own case) of a ‘foreigner’. Mind you, in the Lower Mainland the word foreigner has, through media use, become somewhat synonymous with ‘Chinese’, which should be even more upsetting to any rational Canadian who understands what makes Canada Canada. i.e. immigration from all around the globe.

 

With regard to referendums, personally I am OK with leaving the power of such decisions in the hands of the few (democratically elected) as the decisions of the masses (via referendum) seem so often to delete cool logic from the process and instead trade on a hot mix of rhetoric, fear, bad math, sentiment, and anecdotal evidence.

 

Think back to the 2011 HST referendum in BC, where lower-income voters went to the polls and essentially voted out a tax that would have put money in their pockets, a tax that would have cost the wealthy considerably more each year (especially in real estate transactions). A decision that was illogical financially and fundamentally, yet satisfying on the ‘punish the government’ front. Not that it effectively punished the Government as per subsequent election.

 

Or for lighter far the Boaty McBoatFace debacle, foreshadowing perhaps?

 

Politics, best left to politicians perhaps.

 

What does Brexit mean for your mortgage?

 

It once again pushes the forecasts of rate hikes out into the distant future.

 

The Bank of England, the European Central Bank, and likely the US Fed, will either lower rates or delay increases, leaving the Bank of Canada in ‘wait and see’ mode.

 

Thank you.

 

Dustan Woodhouse  AMP – Accredited Mortgage Professional

CLICK HERE & Do your (tax deductible) good deed for the day!

Dominion Lending CentresCanadian Mortgage Experts

 

[/vc_column][/vc_row]