Learn more about Canadian mortgage rates, rules and the latest news – read on!
Latest News
Your mortgage interest payments are likely going up. Is there a way to reduce them? Nov 28th
A lump-sum payment would go directly to the principle of your mortgage, meaning you’re immediately paying less interest..... More »
Fixed mortgage rates in Canada resume their decline amid economic volatility Feb 5th
After a short-lived upswing in bond yields last month that nudged some fixed mortgage rates higher, lenders are once again bringing them back down..... More »
RBC bracing for renewal impact: three quarters of its mortgages to see higher rates by 2026 Dec 4th
Despite interest rates having been elevated for over a year, Canada's largest bank said the bulk of the impact is yet to be felt with nearly three quarters of its mortgage portfolio coming up for renewal over the next three years..... More »
What it’s like to be a first-time home buyer in Ontario—for real + MORE Apr 25th
We’d been looking for over two years when we finally closed on our home last year in Vaughan, Ontario, just north of Toronto. As first-time home buyers in Ontario, my husband and I had seen around 30 houses, had been outbid on five or six and had expanded our search area from the middle of Toronto.... More »
Canada’s financial consumer watchdog unveils guidelines to support at-risk mortgage borrowers Jul 6th
The country's financial consumer watchdog today unveiled new guidelines urging financial institutions to provide support to mortgage holders who are facing "severe financial stress" and are at-risk of default..... More »
Majority of Canadian Buyers Borrowing Their Maximum Approved Mortgage
– canadianmortgagetrends.com
Soaring home prices over the past year have forced a majority of today’s homebuyers to use the maximum mortgage amounts they’ve been approved for.
The CMHC Takes a Step in the Right Direction
– canadamortgagenews.ca
In July 2020, with CEO Evan Siddall at the helm, the CMHC decided to tighten the rules for insured mortgages. With revisions like a much higher minimum credit score, and much lower maximums for gross and total debt service ratios, it instantly became much more difficult for Canadians to qualify for an insured mortgage. Unsurprisingly, this proved to be an unpopular move. So why did Siddall do it?
Fear, for one. Siddall predicted that the pandemic would cause an economic downturn, and that home prices would plummet by as much as 18%. He also assumed that by introducing these restrictions, the CMHC’s two main competitors (Canada Guaranty and Sagen) would follow suit.
As we now know, the economy didn’t crash. Home prices certainly did not plummet, nevermind by 18%. And Canada’s two other prominent insurers didn’t impose more restrictive criteria as he predicted (and hoped) they would. The result was a decision driven by fear and ego that cost the government billions of dollars in lost revenue, and made it harder for Canadians to secure a mortgage…
