Before you set out to secure the lowest mortgage rate available, you’ll need to make an important decision concerning your payment term. Almost every new mortgage customer struggles when it comes to deciding their amortization schedule. While some customers prefer the lower monthly costs of a long-term mortgage, other’s want to pay off their loan as quickly as possible.
So, should you go for a short-term or long-term solution? Let’s look at your options. Continue reading
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
Concern over a red-hot housing marketing and increasing consumer debt has prompted Finance Minister Jim Flaherty to make some drastic changes this week. On Thursday, Minister Flaherty announced that responsibility for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) will be handed over to the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, the nation’s banking regulator.
It’s unclear how the change will impact the market. While some believe that new oversight will help halt skyrocketing real estate prices in Toronto, some experts anticipate very little change. Flaherty made it overtly clear that his main reason for tabling the bill was concern over the Toronto condo market. Designed to discourage high-risk borrowing, the new regulations would put the OSFI in charge of reviewing and monitoring CMHC’s commercial activities. The agency was previously monitored by Human Resources Minister Diane Finley. Continue reading
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
Are you in the market for a mortgage renewal this year? Then pull up your socks, grab a mortgage calculator, and get ready to start saving some serious cash! If you’re one of the many Canadians who settled for a fixed-rate five-year mortgage back in 2007, chances are you’ve been kicking yourself ever since. At the time, locking in a 5 percent or higher interest rate seemed like a bargain – the market was hot, housing prices were high, and interest rates were on a continued climb.
And then the bubble burst, the U.S. economy toppled, and interest rates dropped to historic lows. Five-year fixed mortgage holders were left with massive payments while the rest of the country took advantage of some of the best mortgage rates ever.
But the tides are about to turn. Continue reading