Another Interest Rate Hike: What Does This Mean For Homeowners?

In efforts to address rising inflation, the Bank of Canada has increased the key interest rate by another 1%, bringing the key rate to 2.5%. This is the highest single rate increase since 1998. What does this mean for homeowners?

According to a study on Provincial Housing Market Outlook, by TD Bank, the rising cost of borrowing will weigh heavily on the housing activity. A 23% annual average decline of home sales is forecasted for 2022, and a 12% pullback in 2023. The result? A cooling market. The demand of homes will reduce significantly, and in turn impact the average home prices, projected to fall 19% from 2022-2023.

This is not the ideal environment for existing homeowners and potential sellers. The market value of your property has reduced significantly, in only a few months, which means less profit when you sell.

How do you maximize your profit in a cooling market?

• Online ready - Prospective buyers start their search online. This is where photography makes all the difference. A home stager can help.

• Prioritizing how you stage - Not all rooms are created equal, and knowing where and how much to tweak can save you time, money, and improve your returns. Your home stager is likely your best bet.

• Time is money - Your property must sell fast, especially with continuous interest hikes. Your stager will be able to quickly prepare your property and prepare it to sell. It's our job. A professionally staged home will typically sell between 30%-50% faster than one that isn’t staged.

We can only wait and see what happens with our interest rates in the coming weeks, but the reality is, they likely aren’t going down anytime soon. For homeowners, the impact is brutal. This has reduced the market value of our property significantly. Our most important asset.

We need to ensure that we do everything we can to protect the value of our property in this hard economic environment, and maximize our profit in the end.

Want to know how? Contact me.