Vancouver city council voted unanimously Wednesday to approve increasing the city’s Empty Homes Tax from three per cent to five per cent for the 2023 reference year.

Five Year yields are important to real estate, influencing one of the key mortgage rates. As a result, Canadians should expect to pay the highest mortgage interest in a decade — and these rates are just getting started.

“Existing homeowners have a disincentive to sell because every dollar borrowed costs more,” Mark Fleming, chief economist at First American Financial Corporation, told Yahoo Money. “The financially rational decision is not to sell.”

The Bank of Canada last hiked by 50 basis points (bps) in May 2000.

The data is from Rentals.ca’s latest National Rent Report, which found Vancouver not only had the highest average rental price in the whole country at $2,925 but also posted the greatest year-over-year increase.

As Ontario’s sizzling real estate market puts home ownership out of reach for many Canadians, a growing number of prospective buyers are looking west in hopes of achieving their white-picket-fence dreams.