What the Bank of Canada Rate Increase to 1.5% Means for Canadian Home Owners and Home Buyers + MORE Jul 17th

Canadian housing mortgage rates are all over the map. Don’t get trapped in an unnecessarily costly mortgage agreement.
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Brokers react to the government’s “nonsense” mortgage charter + MORE Dec 1st

The Liberal government last week unveiled a "new" Canadian Mortgage Charter aimed at ensuring lenders offer relief to mortgage borrowers who are struggling to make their payments..... More »

The Latest in Mortgage News – Is the Housing Market Turning a Corner? Aug 10th

While Vancouver area home sales are still posting year-over-year declines, signs are appearing in the Greater Toronto Area that the worst of the housing correction is now over. Experts say that likely won’t be enough to stave off a slowdown in national GDP growth, however, which in part will b.... More »
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The complete guide for first-time home buyers in Canada + MORE Apr 22nd

Buying your first home is an exciting experience, but it can also be an overwhelming one—especially if you’re not sure where to start. That’s why we’ve outlined some simple steps that anyone shopping for a home should take, from figuring out what you can actually afford to getting pre-approv.... More »
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How Canada’s Small Businesses Can Create Resilient Futures Oct 14th

.c-logo img { display: inline-block; } .single-article .wp-caption-text {  text-align: center; } Created by   Adam Kirsh, AVP Salesforce Canada Instead of ‘doomscrolling’ — otherwise known as obsessively checking social media for negative stories about the pandemic and .... More »

“Should we refinance our mortgage?” + MORE Dec 23rd

We’re thinking about breaking our existing home mortgage to take advantage of low interest rates and would appreciate some guidance. This is our scenario: Mortgage principal: $572,000Weekly payments: $746.00Interest rate: 3.78% fixed and locked in until December 2024Penalty fee for breaking mor.... More »
What the Bank of Canada Rate Increase to 1.5% Means for Canadian Home Owners and Home Buyers
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 strict “stress test”, regardless of their down payment amount. Borrowers have to prove they can still make payments at the greater of two options: either the five-year benchmark rate published by the Bank of Canada (currently 5.34 per cent), or the contractual mortgage rate plus two percentage points. Otherwise, those borrowers will not qualify for a mortgage.
And in recent news, the Bank of Canada raised its overnight lending rate to the highest level in almost ten years; the target is now 1.5 per cent. Commercial banks responded right away by raising their prime rate to 3.7 per cent. This means if you have a variable rate mortgage or have borrowed money from a line of credit, it is going to get more expensive to service…

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BREAKING: Ontario Car Insurance Rates Have Increased
Here at RateSupermaket.ca, we keep you in the loop of different ways to save, whether it be on your mortgage, through investments, or on your car insurance. The Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) has reported that Ontario car insurance rates have increased by 1.11 per cent on average.
Car insurance rates fluctuate based on a number of different factors. However, before an insurance company can change rates, it must first be approved by the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (a regulatory agency of the Ministry of Finance).
FSCO publishes approved rate changes quarterly, and the latest results are in:
In the second quarter of 2018, approved rates from auto insurance companies increased by 1.11 per cent on average – not a huge increase, but notable.
The range of approved rates seemed to be significant, with some companies lowering their rates by about 0.69 per cent, and another inflating its rates by 8.15 per cent on average.
“Consumers are urged to shop around for auto insurance,” FSCO said in its quarterly statement…

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Why Did the Bank of Canada Raise Rates Last Week?!
Last Wednesday, the Bank of Canada (BoC) raised its overnight target rate to 1.5% – up from 1.25%. This is the fourth increase since last June, when the target rate was 0.5%.
The timing is suspect to me. Last year, we had an increase around this time, but that was coming off of the hottest housing market in 29 years. We’re currently on the heels of a brutally slow spring market, yet rates are still rising? I don’t get it… this is a poor decision, in my opinion.
When it comes to four rate increases in the past year, there are facts, realities and perceptions that come into play…
FACTS
The BoC is using old facts to justify this fourth rate increase. This has pushed up lending costs for commercial businesses and consumers who borrow based on the bank Prime rate.
REALITIES
Variable-rate mortgages got a little more expensive. A good variable rate is anywhere between Prime minus 0.65% and 1.19% . For some of us in a variable rate, we could be seeing our mortgage rate just above 3% for the first time in almost 10 years! That’s right, if you were in a variable-rate mortgage for the last 10 years, you probably don’t know what a mortgage rate above 3% feels like…

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