Mortgage Rates Expected to Rise Despite Central Bank Hopes

According to Dr. Sherry Cooper, chief economist at Dominion Lending Centres (DLC), mortgage rates are unlikely to fall anytime soon.

Speaking at the Women in Mortgage Summit Canada in Toronto on September 24, Cooper warned that a global selloff in US Treasuries and stubborn US inflation leave the central bank little room to ease. This means Canada's borrowing costs will likely rise over the next six to 12 months.

Cooper explained that retaliatory tariffs will push domestic prices higher, citing Canada's fiscal footing as stronger than that of the US. However, this may not be enough to offset the rising interest rates, which she predicts will happen later this year or early in the first half of next year.