Housing optimism is back in Canada, boosting consumer confidence
BNN Bloomberg
Canadians are growing more optimistic as the outlook for real estate steadily improves and the economy grinds ahead with few signs of an imminent recession.
The Bloomberg Nanos Canadian Confidence Index, a measure of sentiment based on weekly polling, rose to the highest level since June. The index was at 50.4 last week, the fifth straight increase. It began to rise sharply around the same time as the Bank of Canada officially paused interest rate hikes, in early March.
A Bloomberg Nanos score of 50 indicates that positive and negative views are about equal. The index’s lowest point in the past year was 42 in October.
The primary reason for the gains is a view that home prices have hit bottom: 75 per cent of respondents said they expect prices will either rise or stay the same in the next six months. That’s the highest proportion since last June, and the fastest 10-week increase in more than two years.
