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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Life Insurance vs. mortgage insurance: Let’s break it down + MORE Mar 20th
Life insurance can be a necessity for ensuring your loved ones are taken care of after you’re gone. It can help them pay for funeral expenses, the costs of everyday living and much more. But one of life insurance’s main advantages is that it can pay off outstanding debts, including a mortgage. S.... More »
Mortgage Lenders Provide COVID-19 Update – Part 2 + MORE Apr 16th
In a recent series of panel discussions put on by Mortgage Professionals Canada, a cross-section of some of the country’s top lenders and insurers provided updates on how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted operations and shaped their outlook. Similar to the previous sessions, the overwhelming mess.... More »
Millennials Could Be Hit Hardest by the Bank of Canada’s Interest Rate Hike + MORE Jun 3rd
Canadians, get ready to pay more to borrow money: The Bank of Canada, or BoC, announced a 0.50 per cent interest rate hike today to tame inflation, bringing its key interest rate up to 1.5 per cent, and signalled more hikes will come.
After slashing its key interest rate to 0.25 per cent at the o.... More »
Important week for mortgage rates could cost or save you thousands. Oct 31st
Mortgage rates fell by about 1% since January of this year. That rate drop has created a surge in real estate sales across Canada, with September and October seeing a greater than average number of real estate transactions. We also saw consumers taking advantage of these low rates by refinancing .... More »
Popularity of variable-rate mortgages plummets to pre-pandemic levels + MORE Jun 21st
The popularity of variable-rate mortgages is continuing to fall and is now nearly at levels last seen prior to the pandemic in early 2020..... More »
The Best Place to Save Your Home Down Payment
– ratesupermarket.ca
The Canadian housing market can be difficult to gauge at any given time, especially during times of new mortgage qualifications, news of sales decreasing, and forecasts of interest rates increasing in the near future.
Under the current conditions, some potential home buyers may be conflicted; they may have a down payment, but they are not ready to buy.
So in the meantime, where can you park your down payment to get a higher return later?
In Canada, you can get away with as low as five per cent down to qualify for a mortgage, but if you’re willing to wait a little longer to buy a home, there are plenty of investment options where you can potentially grow your down payment, such as ETFs and stocks. It should be noted, though, that while there is no such thing as a risk-free investment that will give you a high return, ETFs and stocks are much riskier investments.
A house down payment, presumably, is cash you’ll need in the short term. So it’s best to keep that money relatively safe, in an account or investment that’s easily accessible and likely won’t drop in value any time soon…
