mortgage rates are ratcheting up the pressure on Canadian landlords, especially young investors who are facing the harsh side of the interest rate cycle for the first time.A report released Thursday by Royal LePage shows higher payments are even pushing some housing investors to consider selling off their properties.
But for 32-year-old Karim Najjar, that decision is about more than just writing off the loss on an investment.Najjar moved to Ottawa from Edmonton in 2017 and jumped into the housing market a year after he arrived.His timing into the market was good, Najjar recalls, as home prices soared in his first few years of ownership.
He sold his first property with enough of a profit to put deposits down on a number of new builds, looking to expand his portfolio.Najjar’s portfolio now includes four properties, three in Ottawa and one in Quebec.
But after the Bank of Canada rapidly hiked its benchmark interest rate over the past year, the business case for some of his properties has changed rapidly.“Some of the properties that I own have variable mortgages.