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Posted by: Jennifer Koop
The Bank of Canada Brings Out The Big Guns Following yesterday’s surprise emergency 50 basis point (bp) rate cut by the Fed, the Bank of Canada followed suit today and signalled it is poised to do more if necessary. The BoC lowered its target for the overnight rate by 50 bps to 1.25%, suggesting that […]
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Virus Anxiety and The Canadian Housing Market As though things weren’t volatile enough, a new wave of virus terror is wreaking havoc on global financial markets. The novel conronavirus, COVID-19, continues to spread causing panic in worldwide stock and bond markets for the seventh day. Share prices have plummetted in Asia, Europe, the U.S. and Canada. The […]
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Minister Morneau Announces New Benchmark Rate for Qualifying For Insured Mortgages The new qualifying rate will be the mortgage contract rate or a newly created benchmark very close to it plus 200 basis points, in either case. The News Release from the Department of Finance Canada states, “the Government of Canada has introduced measures to […]
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CANADIAN QUALIFYING MORTGAGE RATE LOWERED TO 4.99% Market interest rates have fallen sharply since the coronavirus-led investor flight to the safety of government bonds. The 5-year government bond yield–a harbinger of conventional mortgage rates–now stands at 1.34%, down sharply from the 1.60+% range it was trading in before the virus became global news (see chart […]
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WEAK NEW LISTINGS SLOW CANADIAN HOME SALES AS PRICES CONTINUE TO RISE. Sellers Housing Market Now in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) Statistics released today by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) show that national existing-home sales dipped between November and December owing to a dearth of new listings, especially in the GTA. National home […]
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SIGH OF RELIEF AS DECEMBER JOBS REPORT REBOUNDS Welcome Rebound in Labour Markets in December For this notoriously volatile data series, it is particularly true that ‘one month does not a trend make.’ Following last month’s dismal employment report, job growth rebounded in December, erasing almost half of the earlier decline (even more if you […]
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Saving for a down payment is one of the biggest challenges facing people wanting to buy their first home. To fulfill the conditions of your mortgage approval, it’s all about what you can prove (hard to believe – but some people have lied in the past – horrors!). Documentation of down payment is required by […]
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MORTGAGES FOR EXPENSIVE HOMES – NOT AS EASY AS IT SOUNDS Large home purchases that require a mortgage present unique challenges in the Canadian Mortgage market. Sliding scales, director approval, multiple reviews, it all adds up to difficultly getting larger mortgages approved, unless you’re working with an experienced mortgage broker. In 2012 the government of […]
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5 MISTAKES FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS MAKE Buying a home might just be the biggest purchase of your life—it’s important to do your homework before jumping in! We have outlined the 5 mistakes First Time Home Buyers commonly make, and how you can avoid them and look like a Home Buying Champ. 1. Shopping Outside […]
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PRINCIPAL & INTEREST Principal and interest are the two components that make up a mortgage payment. Principal is the portion of your payment that goes towards paying down the outstanding balance of your mortgage. Interest is the other portion of your payment which goes directly into the pockets of your lender and does not contribute […]
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