Housing market slowdown a welcome shift in consumer psychology: RBC CEO
Posted April 6, 2018 1:37 pm.
Last Updated April 6, 2018 1:40 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The chief executive of Royal Bank says the housing market slowdown is a welcome shift in consumer psychology toward more caution.
David McKay told shareholders at the company’s annual meeting Friday that the bank is seeing a more balanced pricing trend after tighter conditions last year.
The Vancouver and Toronto region real estate boards, representing the country’s hottest markets, reported double-digit annual sales declines in March earlier this week.
B.C. and Ontario have introduced a series of measures to cool the housing market, including taxes on non-residents.
Further cooling pressure came from the federal level, including a financial stress test for buyers implemented Jan. 1 for federally-regulated lenders.
Both variable and fixed-rate mortgage rates have also risen as a result of moves by the Bank of Canada and fluctuations in the bond markets.
