Bank of Canada interest hike expected to create financial pinch for Calgary homeowners

The Bank of Canada announced Wednesday that it will raise its policy interest rate for the tenth time since March 2022, much to the dismay of some Calgarians as the cost of borrowing becomes more expensive.

The Bank of Canada announced Wednesday that it will raise its policy interest rate for the tenth time since March 2022, much to the dismay of some Calgarians as the cost of borrowing becomes more expensive.

The 25-basis points hike brings the Bank’s overnight rate to 5 per cent, the highest it’s seen since 2001.

Jeff Batt recently purchased a home in Calgary and like many others, he’s now feeling the pinch of increased costs to his mortgage payments.

"We started out on a variable rate, and we were sitting around two per cent when we first got our house, but now we're up around six and a half percent just because of all the inflation, and it's almost tripled our mortgage rate," he said.

Batt adds that he had to start his own business and work six to seven days per week just to make ends meet.

The rising costs have forced him to look for a new home, but with rising demand in Calgary, he says it has been more difficult than ever to find an affordable place to live.

"We lost out on a house after putting in a bid of over $80,000 above asking price," Batt said.