Another reason for housing bubble or housing crisis is interest rate hikes. If interest rates are low, housing bubbles often get even bigger. At lower rates people can buy larger mortgages, increasing demand and driving up prices. Buyers may take out risky loans, ignoring warning signs like rising interest rates or a shrinking economy. And then there’s the herd mentality. People see big money being made in the real estate market and so do other people. A real estate shopping frenzy ensues. When people are in a bubble they think the market will never change! For example, when the Bank of Canada cut interest rates during Covid in 2020, house prices skyrocketed by May 2022.

When there is too much inflation and house prices are too high, it needs to be controlled to cool down inflation and the housing market. The Bank of Canada raised interest rates in July 2017 for the first time in seven years, slowing the housing market as Canada’s biggest banks raised interest rates. And, the biggest interest increase comes in 2023. The Bank of Canada raised interest rates by 100 basis points in 2023 to curb inflation, the largest increase since 1998. The governor of the Bank of Canada said the increase was necessary to prevent high inflation from stifling. The governor had said that the interest rate will be reduced to 2 percent. On the other hand, according to economists, it was a gamble by the Bank of Canada, that inflation had factors other than the housing market (such as the war in Ukraine, supply chain issues and so on) that were beyond the Bank of Canada’s control. According to economists, this would certainly reduce inflation but not immediately. Whether or not it controlled the price of food, oil, it certainly controlled the housing market. The rising rates certainly affected those who took out mortgages for home purchases and took out new loans. According to economists, this would certainly reduce inflation but not immediately. Whether or not it controlled the price of food, oil, it certainly controlled the housing market. The rising rates certainly affected those who took out mortgages for home purchases and took out new loans. We can see that when the Bank of Canada starts raising interest rates from July 2022 and home prices start to cool. Yes, interest rate hikes in 2022 and 2023 have certainly cooled the market, although they have not burst the housing bubble. If interest rates rise sharply, it can become more expensive to get a mortgage, which can reduce demand for houses and condos. Now people are not ready to go to the real estate market! Yes, the housing market has definitely cooled but not cracked yet! The housing bubble has yet to burst and a housing crisis could happen at any time. (My next post will be on another mortgage loan!)