Blog
October 24, 2024
Bank of Canada reduces policy rate by 50 basis points to 3¾%
www.bankofcanada.ca The Bank of Canada today reduced its target for the overnight rate to 3¾%, with the Bank Rate at 4% and the deposit rate at 3¾%. The Bank is continuing its policy of balance sheet normalization. The Bank continues to expect the global economy to expand at a rate […]
October 15, 2024
New actions announced to encourage building of secondary suites, more homes in Canada
CTV News ~ October 9th, 2024 The federal government introduced a number of measures related to housing on Tuesday, which include measures for homeowners wanting to add a secondary suite, taxing vacant land and building homes in place of underused federal properties. The first action is changes to how lenders […]
September 30, 2024
Homeowners will no longer need to do stress test when switching mortgage providers
CBC news ~ September 26th, 2024 The national banking regulator says it will no longer require borrowers with uninsured mortgages to undergo a stress test when switching providers. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions says it will end the policy for lenders to apply the minimum qualifying rate […]
September 23, 2024
Mortgage and real estate industry hit the jackpot this week with trio of announcements
Financial Post ~ September 20th, 2024 They say good news comes in threes. I don’t know if that’s true or if it’s from the same school of science as astrology, but it happened this week with mortgages. First, Ottawa announced a bombshell loosening of mortgage insurance rules. Second, inflation stunned […]
September 9, 2024
Bank of Canada reduces policy rate by 25 basis points to 4¼%
The Bank of Canada today reduced its target for the overnight rate to 4¼%, with the Bank Rate at 4½% and the deposit rate at 4¼%. The Bank is continuing its policy of balance sheet normalization. The global economy expanded by about 2½% in the second quarter, consistent with projections […]
August 15, 2024
Market volatility could drive some mortgage rates lower. Here’s why
Global News ~ August 7th, 2024 Canadians gearing up for a run at the fall housing market and existing homeowners with a mortgage renewal looming might see interest rates heading down in the weeks ahead thanks to recent market volatility, experts tell Global News. Stock markets around the world largely […]
August 1, 2024
First-time homebuyers can now apply for a 30-year mortgage.
CBC News ~ August 1st, 2024 The 30-year amortized mortgages announced in the 2024 federal budget are kicking in on Thursday. First-time homebuyers who are purchasing newly built homes can now qualify for a 30-year mortgage, giving them five additional years to pay off an insured mortgage. For other mortgages […]
July 24, 2024
Bank of Canada cuts key interest rate again, more cuts ‘reasonable’ if inflation keeps easing
Central bank cut rate for 2nd consecutive time, to 4.5 per cent CBC ~ July 24th, 2024 The Bank of Canada cut its key interest rate to 4.5 per cent on Wednesday, with governor Tiff Macklem saying during a news conference that it would be reasonable to expect further rate […]
July 15, 2024
Bank of Canada’s June rate cut was like bringing a butter knife to a gunfight
Financial Post ~ July 4th, 2024 Canadian real estate and overleveraged borrowers need a bigger saviour. A measly 25-basis-point drop in average mortgage rates only translates into a little more than two per cent improvement in payment affordability (home buying power). Hence, the psychological boost from the bank’s initial cut […]
June 24, 2024
Are longer mortgage terms the solution to Canada’s payment shock challenges?
Canadian Mortgage Trends ~ June 23rd, 2024 Payment shocks at renewal due to shorter mortgage terms have become a growing concern for many Canadians. This has led some to question whether adopting longer mortgage terms, similar to those in the United States, would provide greater financial stability. While Canadian lenders […]
