Mortgages in Canada can be a murky subject – one that we hope to shed some light on with a series of highly informational articles.
Latest News
Prime Rate Falls to 2.95%, Some Banks Increase Variable Premiums + MORE Mar 20th
For the second time in two weeks Canada’s prime rate has fallen by 50-percentage points. Following the Bank of Canada’s emergency rate cut on Friday, RBC led the way in passing along the full 50 bps of rate cut on Monday, with most of the other big banks soon following suit. That lowered the c.... More »
Debt Consolidation Tip: Pay less interest! + MORE Feb 22nd
The beginning of the year is typically tough financially for most of us. Holiday bill payments, RRSP contributions, property tax bills, etc. And, if you’re self-employed, you probably have to make some sort of business tax or corporate tax payment. If December is the Holiday Season, then Janua.... More »
Should you break your mortgage? + MORE Dec 20th
Joakim Tjernell was pretty proud of himself—he’d done a damn good job of shopping for a mortgage. It was back in June of 2009 and Tjernell, a translator in his 30s, had been eyeing units in a slick modern condo building on Toronto’s Bathurst Street for a while. There was a lot of paperwork—T.... More »
Credit Scores Improving, Says CMHC + MORE Sep 28th
New data from CMHC shows average credit scores of mortgage holders across the country are continuing to rise. A full 80.7% of mortgages in Canada are held by borrowers with a “very good” (700-749) or “excellent” (750+) credit score, CMHC says. That’s up from 78.2% in 2012. Meanwhile, t.... More »
Q1 Lender Earnings: The Recovery is Underway + MORE May 22nd
Some of the country’s key mortgage lenders unveiled their first-quarter results, which were positive across the board. The lenders were able to take advantage of a hot housing market, alongside improving economic conditions and reduced loss provisions. One highlight was Home Capital addressing.... More »
Canadians owe more than $1.5 trillion in non-mortgage debt
– moneysense.ca
(Blend Images – Peter Dressel/Getty Images)TORONTO – Canadians continue to pile on debt and now collectively owe more than $1.5 trillion excluding mortgages, according to the latest figures from Equifax Canada.
The consumer credit rating agency says the level at the end of the third quarter was up 7.4 per cent from $1.409 trillion a year ago, with non-mortgage debt held by Canadians now standing at an average of $20,891.
The auto loan and instalment loan sectors showed the most significant increases, at 6.8 and 5.8 per cent year-over-year respectively.
“Following a frenzied start to the festive shopping season with more to come in the countdown to Christmas, we can expect the consumer debt to rise even further,” said Regina Malina, senior director of decision insights at Equifax Canada.
Despite the increase in debt, the delinquency rate — defined as bills more than 90 days past due — remains on a downward trend and now stands at just 1.1 per cent, Equifax said.
“While the debt numbers are worrisome, it’s certainly positive to see delinquency and bankruptcy rates inch down each quarter,” said Malina…
Mortgage Career: Educators Financial Group
– canadianmortgagetrends.com
Company: Educators Financial Group Position: Regional Director, Lending Services Location: Ottawa-Carleton Advertise your mortgage job opening today! Click here to post. Or browse CMT’s Mortgage Jobs Database. Regional Director, Lending Services Years of Experience Required Qualifications/Education and Experience: Over 10 years business development experience in financial services and sales, specifically resident mortgages, lines of credit […]
Making an RRSP withdrawal to pay the mortgage
– moneysense.ca
(Getty Images/Arda Guldogan)Q: I just bought a new house. I have a $250,000 mortgage at 2.97%. We have a little over $2 million in investments, but they are all in RRSPs in fairly conservative investments. Last year we made 7% and this year made probably 5%. We are in our early 50s and still working. Is it better to pay off the mortgage and take the tax hit or pay the mortgage and hope I make more on my investments? I can’t seem to get my head around it.—Darby
A: The mortgage versus RRSP debate takes many forms, Darcy. Often people ask about whether to use their cash flow to either pay down their mortgage or put money in their RRSP. Your question is a little more extreme: cashing in your RRSP to pay off your mortgage.
Let’s start by reviewing some of the considerations:
First, here are some very general reasons to consider paying down your mortgage instead of contributing to your RRSP, subject to other factors:
-You are risk averse: Paying down debt provides you with a guaranteed rate of return via the interest you avoid thereafter—a return that will increase as interest rates normalize…
CAAMP Broker Panel – Part II
– canadianmortgagetrends.com
Here’s part II of our coverage of CAAMP’s Broker Panel from last week. Once again, the panel featured four mortgage pros sounding off on lenders, regulations, broker technology and more. They were… Ron Butler from Butler Mortgage Dan Eisner from True North Mortgage Peter Majthenyi from Mortgage Architects Mathieu Lebrun from Multi-Prets Hypothèques Here’s what they […]
2014 CAAMP Conference Wrap-up
– canadianmortgagetrends.com
Last week, Montreal played host to CAAMP’s Mortgage Forum 2014, one of the mortgage industry’s most important gatherings of mortgage professionals. Dubbed by some as “a networking event on steroids,” the event played host to 1,200+ attendees. It also included 65 booths at the two-day Expo and 525 attendees at the Hall of Fame/Awards Night […]
