Mortgages in Canada can be a murky subject – one that we hope to shed some light on with a series of highly informational articles.
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Construction Mortgages: What They Are and How to Get One + MORE Apr 24th
Needless to say, building your dream home involves a lot more work as opposed to buying a ready-build – it’s more than just drawing floor plans and picking out counter finishes. Buying a piece of land and constructing your own home from scratch also requires you to get a different type of mortg.... More »
How much you need to earn to afford a home in Toronto and the GTA + MORE Mar 22nd
Looking at the Toronto housing market through a lens of percentages, shifting sales numbers and interest rates may be the go-to method for industry insiders, but for many run-of-the-mill buyers, there’s really one thing that matters: “What kind of home can I afford?”
To help answer that que.... More »
What the Bank of Canada Rate Increase to 1.5% Means for Canadian Home Owners and Home Buyers + MORE Jul 17th
From personal loans to mortgages, simply put, it’s now more expensive and more difficult for Canadians to borrow money.
At the beginning of 2018, new mortgage rules raised the bar for qualification. Under federal law, all financial institutions are now required to put any new applicants under a.... More »
Mortgage Digest: Arrears rise to highest level since 2020, but remain low overall + MORE Jan 23rd
Canada’s mortgage arrears rate edged higher again in October, rising to 0.25% of all residential mortgages, the highest level since 2020, according to the Canadian Bankers Association..... More »
Mortgage Digest: MPC National Conference edition + MORE Oct 31st
Highlights from this week’s MPC National Conference in Montreal, including key insights from the panel discussions, keynote speakers and concurrent sessions..... More »
Sad but true: Prudent savers are getting hit with the highest mortgage rates
– theglobeandmail.com
The best available mortgage rates are in some cases going to those with smaller down payments, and the potential to take on more debt
Q1 2017 Bank Earnings – Mortgage Morsels
– canadianmortgagetrends.com
Q1 bank earnings season came and went with less fanfare than usual, at least on the mortgage front. Executives’ mortgage commentary focused primarily on conditions in Canada’s two hottest housing markets and on strong credit quality. Earnings reports show continued robust mortgage activity at CIBC and National Bank, with both reporting a 12% year-over-year increase in mortgage volumes. We also saw stronger-than-expected mortgage volumes at Scotiabank. As we do every quarter, we’ve picked through the Big Banks’ quarterly earnings reports, presentations and conference calls, and compiled all the mortgage notables right here. Key tidbits are highlighted in blue. ********* Bank of Montreal Q1 net income: $1.49 billion (+39% READ MORE
Manulife Bank Lands Mark Squire
– canadianmortgagetrends.com
Manulife Bank keeps padding its leadership roster. And its latest signing should get it to the playoffs. Former National Bank broker channel head, Mark Squire, is now Manulife Bank’s Head of Mortgage Broker Services. Squire, one of the channel’s more respected and broker-friendly executives, helped lead NBC from less than 2.2% market share in the broker channel in 2009, to 6.1% in Q2 2014. NBC peaked at #6 in the top 10 broker lenders. That, of course, was before National’s HQ pulled the carpet out from under the broker channel by starting to favour its internal sales forces. At Manulife, we suspect Squire will look to build READ MORE
What is Causing House Prices to Rise in Toronto?
– ratesupermarket.ca
A recent report suggests it might be time to put the “foreign buyer blame game” to rest in Toronto. According to the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB), foreign homebuyers made up less than five per cent of home purchases in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in 2016. This figure further validates a report by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), which found that foreigners made up a “miniscule” amount of homeowners in the condo market. The report also pointed out that the majority of these foreign buyers purchased a home as their primary residence or for family members to live in, and not just as an investment property.
The possibility of a special tax being placed on foreign buyers in Toronto – similar to the tax recently introduced in British Columbia – has been a concern for quite some time. However, if the number of foreign buyers in the GTA remains low, a tax is presumed to have minimal impact on the market and house prices.
This has led many to wonder, if this group only made up a small percentage of overall buyers, who is driving house prices?
It may not be a specific “who” – but many “whats”:
What #1: First-time buyers
The TREB report reveals that first-time buyers made a solid portion (51 per cent) of homes sales in the GTA last year…
