Royal Bank Predicts Canadian Interest Rates to Remain Stable and Building Permits to be Down

On Tuesday the Bank of Canada (BoC) will release their latest interest rate announcement and in my "Daily Economic Update" from the Royal Back (or are they just RBC now?) they had this to say:

"Recent indications of firm domestic demand, combined with the very firm tone in the labour market data lately, means we lean towards the Bank holding the policy rate at 4.5%. The combination of slower US growth, the elevated Canadian dollar, volatility in Canadian financial markets and moderating inflation rates will likely see the Bank cut the overnight rate in 25 basis point increments at both the January and March fixed action dates"

And Thursday October's building permit numbers will be released and RBC says:

" ... we expect that residential permits declined in October, mirroring the sharp 19.0% decline in housing starts. Non-residential permits likely rebounded after declining 8.6% in September, leading to an increase in overall permits."

What will all this mean for the Metro Vancouver real estate market? I don't think we will really know until the new year as the market is pretty much into its Christmas hiatus right now.

By the way you can receive economic updates the Royal Bank as well if you are so inclined. They make for some very exciting reading (tongue now planted firmly in cheek).

Matthew Collinge: www.604homes.com - Royal LePage Westside