Canadian banks delivered the first clear sign that the era of rock-bottom interest rates is over by suddenly hiking mortgage rates, a move that will cost Canadians more to finance home purchases and likely hasten an expected slowdown of the red-hot housing sector.

Surging home sales and prices were already expected to cool in the second half of this year as more listings hit the market and the Harmonized Sales Tax adds to purchase costs in Ontario and British Columbia.

Read the entire Globe and Mail article here.