Toronto contractor Troy Barnes has had a busy few years. With everyone stuck at home during the early days of the pandemic, interest in renovations skyrocketed. Mr. Barnes doubled his work force between 2020 and 2021 and now has 11 employees.
After years of seemingly unbridled, pandemic-fuelled home renovations, there are signs the rush is finally slowing down. Even as the Bank of Canada held its benchmark interest rate steady at its March update, rates remain 4.25 percentage points higher than they were a year ago, undoubtedly leading some homeowners to reconsider taking on additional, pricier debt through their home equity lines of credit , which have traditionally been used to fund renovations.
Realtor Nasma Ali is seeing it too. Ms. Ali, who works in Toronto, is often the first stop for clients who want contractor recommendations or who are debating whether to renovate or move. She says she first noticed things getting quiet in late summer last year. “Those people can’t just stop. … You just have to push through it. You’re bleeding money, but at least you can move back,” she said.
“Everyone is mentioning ‘budget’ a lot more,” said Mr. Creamer, who has reduced the size of his crew from six to four since the height of the pandemic.
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