Held, in the quietest month of the Toronto year
A second hold. Prime is unchanged at 4.45% and has been since October.
December was the thinnest month the GTA has seen in some time — 3,697 sales, an average price of $1,006,735, and 4.9 months of supply. Some of that is the usual seasonal collapse. Some of it is not: the average price has now spent a year drifting down while inventory has stayed high.
For a buyer who is ready, this is close to the maximum amount of leverage the market hands out. Sellers who are listed in January are generally listed because they need to be, and there is very little competition for them. The practical requirement is that you are genuinely ready — a real pre-approval rather than a rate quote, a down payment that is documented and seasoned, and a clear number for what you can go to.
The thing to check before you start is where you land against the $1.5 million cap. Below it, minimum down is 5% of the first $500,000 plus 10% of the balance — $75,000 on a million-dollar purchase. At $1.5M and above, insurance is not available, minimum down is 20%, and fewer lenders will look at the file. Knowing which side of that line your search sits on changes the whole plan.
What the Bank said
“The Bank of Canada today held its target for the overnight rate at 2.25%, with the Bank Rate at 2.5% and the deposit rate at 2.20%. The outlook for the global and Canadian economies is little changed relative to the projection in the October Monetary Policy Report (MPR).”
The rate path around this decision
For context, unemployment was running at about 6.5% and inflation at 2.3% around this decision.
Where this leaves you
Rate announcements make headlines; approvals turn on your own numbers. If you're buying, renewing or refinancing in Toronto, the useful next step is finding out what you actually qualify for — see current rates, run the math, or start an application. You can also follow the local market in our Toronto housing market reports.