Spotlight On Mortgages: November 29, 2013 + MORE Nov 29th

The mortgage industry’s biggest conference, the CAAMP Mortgage Forum, is nearing a close. 1,433 delegates made the trip to downtown Toronto (200 more than last year), including 685 mortgage agents….

It seems like everyone has an opinion on the state of Canada’s housing market. The International Monetary Fund, a global organization that monitors the world’s economic activity, has added its prescriptive voice on the right direction for Canadian central interest rates and economic growth.
According to the IMF’s latest Canadian economic report, the Bank of Canada is in a position to maintain its benchmark rate at one per cent, where it has remained since September 2010, until Q1 2015 at the earliest. This is yet another challenging stance to the OECD’s statement last week that the BoC is best advised to hike rates starting next year, up to 2.25 per cent.
The Economy Will Start To Recover – Finally
Canadians will be granted a longer low rate grace period due to a doubling in economic growth next year, as exports finally rotate in to relieve the pressure on household spending. The organization stated, “Policymakers can afford to wait before starting to raise policy rates towards more normal levels…

In today’s low interest environment, pickings are slim for savers and risk averse investors. The historically low mortgage rates we’ve seen over the past year? Fantastic for home buyers – not so much for savings account or bond customers.
And, with the recent uptick enjoyed by market indexes (the Dow Jones and S&P 500 both hit all time highs this week), it can be a tough argument indeed for taking a conservative investing approach.
Stick To The Investing Basics
While your current stocks or mutual fund investments may be on fire, it’s still important to spread out risk exposure on your assets. After all, should there be another market crash – barring a nation-wide bank meltdown – those parts of your portfolio will be less affected.
When it comes to low risk investing, Guaranteed Investment Certificates lead the pack. They’re stable (you’ll always receive your principal amount back as a minimum), they’re flexible, and comparatively speaking, they boast higher interest returns than their savings counterparts…

A report from PricewaterhouseCoopers spotlights new trends in Canadian views on debt, as well as the impact of mortgage restrictions on the real estate market.
Data from The Tide Turns: Canadians, Debt and Retail Lending study shows that more Canadians are comfortable with the amount of debt they're carrying, and they're also more focused on reducing it. Of 1,228 Canadians surveyed, 57 percent felt their debt level was about right. This marks a decrease from 59 percent during the previous year.
Meanwhile, 66 percent of respondents indicated that they plan on reducing their debt this year. This represents a 3 percent increase from last year.
Additionally, Canadians remain optimistic regarding the economy and their own financial situations. More than half (55 percent) of respondents said they think the nation's economy will remain stable or grow. Nearly half (46 percent) believe their income will rise over the next five years.
However, it's not all good news, as 35 percent of respondents felt their debt level was too high, an increase of 2 percent from the previous year…

A highlight of the just-concluded CAAMP conference was the presentation by Maritz. Every year, Maritz shares its mortgage consumer research findings, and they are insights that lenders and mortgage professionals…