For those who remember or experienced mortgage rates in the double digit range, the talk these days of inflation is going to bring back some memories.
Canada’s inflation rate hit its highest point in nearly 20 years in October. Pressure on three main fronts – food prices, the cost of transportation and housing – has pushed the rate into territory we haven’t seen in a while now that we’ve hit 4.7%.
That is a far cry from the double digits we saw back in the 70s but it also a departure from two-percent that has been the norm for the past decade or more.
At this time of year, food prices are always a burden as imported fresh produce increases the family grocery bill. Where we might see some retrenchment is on fuel – gasoline has been coming down in price since the October benchmark was pegged…and we might see inflationary pressures ease a bit on this one.
And then there’s housing. Yes, it is going up but mostly in big cities…not so much here but the size of a city like Toronto means it carries the national rate with it.
