Category Archives: General Interest

High Home Prices and Bidding Wars: What You Need to Know

The price of a new home in Canada is on the rise, according to data released by Statistics Canada today. Market information from March shows that the price of a new home in Canada rose by 0.3% from the previous month, marking the 12 consecutive monthly increase. While relatively minimal, the jump was slightly greater than the 0.2% advance predicted by market experts.

Numbers don’t lie – houses are expensive, competition is fierce and properties are selling fast. If you’re currently on the market for a new home, you best be prepared – a potential bidding war could be on the horizon. According to a nationwide survey conducted by the Bank of Montreal, one in four Canadians is willing to enter into a bidding war – a decision that could come back to haunt them a few years from now. Continue reading →

Does Your Down Payment Stack Up?

Think that a 5 percent down payment is enough to secure a great mortgage rate? Think again. Pulling together the minimum 5 percent down payment, while a good start, is just that – a start. If you’re a first time home buyer looking to move up the property ladder, don’t skimp on your down payment. If you’re having trouble pulling together the 5 percent minimum, you’re setting yourself up for a hard, long haul. Continue reading →

Half of Canadians Prefer Fixed Rate Mortgage Products

Fixed or variable? If you’re thinking about buying a home, it’s one of the most important decisions you’ll make. According to a recent poll conducted by CIBC, 50 percent of Canadian’s prefer to go with a fixed rate mortgage product – an increase of 39 percent over last year’s numbers. And while this isn’t surprising, given the convergence of fixed and variable rates over the past six months, it’s a telling sign of the times. More and more Canadians are locking in low, long term mortgage rates in anticipation of rate hikes from the Bank of Canada.  Continue reading →

Bank of Canada Maintains Overnight Rate

The Bank of Canada left its main interest rate untouched yesterday, maintaining a 1 percent overnight rate for the 13th consecutive review. While Governor Mark Carney painted a bright economic picture, rumblings of increased interest rates are becoming more and more prevalent.

Overall, the economic momentum in Canada is slightly firmer than the Bank expected back at the beginning of the year. The Bank has projected the Canadian economy to grow by 2.4 percent in both 2012 and 2013 before moderating to 2.2 percent in 2014. As such, the Bank anticipates that the economy will return to full capacity in the first half of 2013.  Continue reading →

Subprime Problems on the Horizon?

A hot housing market is pushing borrowers farther and farther away from mainstream financing and it’s causing quite the stir in the Canadian subprime mortgage industry. The source of the excitement? A growing pile of mortgage debt that’s coming from outside of Canada’s big six banks. Continue reading →