TORONTO, ONTARIO – DECEMBER 4, 2025 – The Canadian mortgage industry had a challenging year in 2025, according to Sherwood Mortgage Group Level Two Mortgage Agent Joe Ferraro.
The Sherwood Mortgage Group is a Canadian company founded in 2008. It features a team of over 100 mortgage brokers and agents along with over 50 institutionalized and alternative lenders to secure over a billion dollars a year in financing for their clients.
Ferraro appeared on the Dec. 3 edition of AvranceCorp Presents to talk about his observations and concerns from mortgage clients, while noticing some trends that could linger on in 2026.
“There is uncertainty on so many different levels,” Ferraro explained. “Especially with what’s happening south of the border with how that economy’s working. Who’s in charge over there. The uncertainty with the tariffs and what not. It’s affected everyone and everybody.”
Some of the key American tariffs against Canada include a 50 per cent tariff on Canadian steel that recently forced Canadian company Algoma Steel to lay off 1,000 employees.
Generally, the United States levied a 35 per cent tariff on Canadian goods in 2025, although a lot of products are exempt under the current United States-Canada-Mexico (USMCA) free trade agreement. A mandatory joint review of the USMCA is scheduled for July 2026.
But some recent anti-tariff ads in October featuring late American president Ronald Reagan from Ontario premier Doug Ford angered American president Donald Trump to increase Canada’s levies by 10 per cent over and above current levels.
“As much as we’re trying to say, ‘No, no, no’ … it’s there,” Ferraro added. “Sentiment in the market has always remained. The Bank of Canada, who is notorious for keeping us safe, keeping us in line, they do a good job. No matter how much we can try and say we don’t like them. Between the Bank of Canada, New Zealand, and Australia, they’ve always nailed it.”
“As much as we’re not happy with the current rates right now, what’s happening south of the border and the uncertainty that’s happening up here, whether it’s inflation, whether its unemployment, it all has an effect in the mortgage world and how those rates look.”
The Bank of Canada overnight rate started at 3.25 per cent at the beginning of the year, then went down through a series of 25 basis point cuts in March, September, and October to 2.25 per cent. Dec. 10 is the next scheduled potential rate adjustment.
“It’s situational. Month by month, quarter by quarter, we go with what we have,” Ferraro said. “Hopefully, a pickup in the summer and fall (of 2026). Everyone wants to see a stable market, but what’s happening south of the border is a problem. It impacts us a lot.”
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Director, Media & Investor Relations
AvranceCorp Developments
📧 kenai@avrancecorp.com
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