Interest rate hikes pushed a B.C. couple's mortgage payments up $2,700 a month

When Sarah Dueck and her husband bought a new house in Langley, B.C., two years ago, interest rates were low. They had little doubt they could pay off their variable-rate mortgage.

"All the messaging from the Bank of Canada was that, you know, interest rates would be low for a while and that they'd increase slowly when they did," she told The Current's Matt Galloway.

"So we thought, you know, on a five-year term, we're pretty confident that variable rate was a good way to go."

But as interest rates skyrocket, Dueck doesn't know how much longer they can keep paying for the home.

Dueck and her husband are now staring at mortgage payments of $6,300 per month — up by $2,700 a month in payments since they bought the house.

They've cut various expenses to make ends meet, from cancelling investment contributions to cutting back on family visits to Ontario. 

"My husband's a teacher, so potentially he could start working [another job] in the summer," she said. "That's the last way that we think that we could find any more money."

But if the rates continue to rise, Dueck doesn't know if they'll be able to keep up.

"Beyond that, yeah, we'll have to start looking at maybe selling the house."

Earlier today, the Bank of Canada announced that it will keep the benchmark interest rate at five per cent. But it hasn't ruled out further hike rates if necessary.

Interest rates have gone up 10 times in the past 18 months alone, from 0.25 per cent in early 2022.

"It's definitely been a hardship," Dueck said. "It's something that's been on our minds. A lot of conversations about finances, about budgets."

"Our future is entirely tied up in our house."

Randall Bartlett, a senior director of Canadian economics with the Desjardins Group, said it's unlikely even the Bank of Canada expected to be in this situation.