{"id":35820,"date":"2025-03-12T08:51:08","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T12:51:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/?p=35820"},"modified":"2025-03-20T23:47:47","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T03:47:47","slug":"boc-rate-cut-march-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/boc-rate-cut-march-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Tariff Uncertainty Leads to an Interest Rate Cut from the Bank of Canada\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Bank of Canada announced the second rate cut of 2025 today, bringing the overnight lending rate down by 25 basis points to 2.75%. This was a highly anticipated move after tariff uncertainty left many Canadians feeling shaky about the economy. A weak Canadian jobs report released last week further contributed to the expectation of a rate cut today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last time the overnight lending rate was below 3% was in September 2022. Similarly, the average 5-year fixed mortgage rate was 3.89% in February, the lowest since the summer of 2022. As buyers navigate 3-year lows in borrowing costs, will it be enough to boost enthusiasm in the market? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can Low Borrowing Costs Offset the Fear of the Unknown? <\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Leading up to the implementation of US tariffs on most Canadian goods in early March, home buyers were taking a cautious step back from the market. The Canadian Real Estate Board\u2019s<\/a> Senior Economist, Shaun Cathcart, suggested that a sales weakening in January resulted from uncertainty around tariffs and the economy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On March 6, Trump suspended 25% tariffs on certain goods from Canada until April 2, but the future is still uncertain. Despite some hesitancy among buyers in January 2025, national sales were up by 2.9% year-over-year. Some markets, like Edmonton<\/a> and Montreal, experienced sales gains of over 10%, while most Ontario markets experienced sales drops from 2024. <\/p>\n\n\n\n