U.S. Dollar Moves Slightly Ahead - What it Means to Canadian Buyers
At the moment I’m writing this, the new-and-improved currency widget in the sidebar is showing the U.S. dollar as slightly ahead of the Canadian dollar for the first time in quite a while. (Your results and mileage may vary depending on when you read this post.)
Two days ago, the American dollar was at about 98 cents to the Canadian. So that two cent swing is a change of, well, two percent. If you’re changing out your Canadian dollars to buy today instead of two days ago, everything you’re buying just became two percent more expensive.
What does two percent equal in housing terms?
- $150,000 house - $3,000 increase
- $200,000 house - $4,000 increase
- $250,000 house - $5,000 increase
Put another way, for those on the fence waiting for the bottom without their currency exchanged, the $200,000 home you’re looking at would have had to shed two percent in value - $4,000 - in just two days for you to come out even.
This is why I have said and will continue to say that the currency exchange is the most volatile valuable in the equation for Canadian buyers here in the Phoenix real estate market. The 10- to 15% declines we’ve seen have taken place over months, not days.
Watch the widget.
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