Bank of Canada maintains overnight rate target at 1 per cent For immediate release 5 September 2012 Contact: Jeremy Harrison 613 782-8782 Ottawa, Ontario – The Bank of Canada today announced that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 1 per cent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 1 1/4 per cent and […]

Mortgage debates used to centre around whether to go fixed or variable but the discussion these days is not whether to lock in a rate but for how long? Variable rate mortgages have slumped in popularity over the last few months as discounts off of the 3% prime rate are either shrinking or disappearing. At […]

Mortgage rates have nowhere to go but up Garry Marr Mar 27, 2012 – 7:22 PM ET | Last Updated: Mar 27, 2012 7:33 PM ET The logic is pretty simple. You hit rock bottom and there is no where else to go but up. Mortgage rates on terms of five years and 10 years […]

Experts worry over household debt by The Canadian Press – Story: 72606 Mar 18, 2012 / 8:21 am   Pressure is building on Finance Minister Jim Flaherty to intervene for a fourth time on mortgages to keep Canada’s housing market and household debt in check. When he met with economists in early March, Flaherty heard […]

Copied from Canadian Mortgage Trends. Improved Penalty Disclosures On The Way Two years ago to the day, the Finance Department promised to “bring greater clarity to the calculation of mortgage pre-payment penalties.” Later this year, that promise will become realized. The government has just announced a brand new mortgage “code” that requires federal financial institutions to: […]

Monday Morning Interest Rate Update (February 27, 2012) Copied from: David Larock in Mortgages and Finance, Home Buying If you want to look beyond the incendiary headlines about housing bubbles in Canada’s largest real estate markets, last week’s report by the Bank of Canada (BoC), called Household Finances and Financial Stability Review, is worth a […]

Collateral versus Standard Charge Mortgages   Another lender has moved to collateral charge mortgages so it’s becoming increasingly important to understand the differences between a collateral and standard charge mortgage.  Which is better for you?  It all depends on your preferences and future needs.     Collateral charge is ideal if you want to be […]

Having children obviously has a tremendous impact on a person’s life and, perhaps also not surprisingly, changes the financial planning priorities of a young family. Up until a child joins the family, most couples focus on eliminating debts, saving a little bit of a nest egg, and either putting aside some money to buy a […]

        Industry News   Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says he stands ready to intervene in the housing market again, just as a mortgage price war breaks out among Canada’s major banks.   Flaherty said Tuesday that he’s watching the market closely, although he has no plans to tighten the market again at […]

FlahertyDespite Jim Flaherty’s assertion that “Most Canadians are quite careful and use common sense in their borrowing,” the government tightened mortgage rules for the third time since 2008. For high-ratio insured mortgages, the Finance Department outlawed both 35-year amortizations and refinances over 85% LTV. That led to:     An immediate 40% plunge in insured refinances […]