30 Oct

New home sales halved in the GTA last month

General

Posted by: Kimberly Walker

Sales of new homes were down 48% in the Greater Toronto Area compared to a year earlier as low- and high- rise sectors saw large declines. High-rise sales fell 37% to 1,749, 3% below the 10-year average; and low-rise sales of just 352 was 73% below September 2016 and 70% below the 10-year average. The […]

Read More
30 Oct

5 Simple Steps to Owning Your Own Home

General

Posted by: Kimberly Walker

Often, the route to owning your own home can seem like a trip to the moon and back. Really though, it comes down to five key steps: 1 – Manage your credit wisely. If there is one thing that will gum up the purchase of that perfect home, it’s an unwise purchase or extra credit […]

Read More
27 Oct

Time to Lock in a Variable Rate Mortgage?

General

Posted by: Kimberly Walker

Approximately 32 per cent of Canadians are in a variable rate mortgage, which with rates effectively declining steadily for the better part of the last ten years has worked well. Recent increases triggers questions and concerns, and these questions and concerns are best expressed verbally with a direct call to your independent mortgage expert – […]

Read More
26 Oct

Interest rates held, economists react to dovish BoC

General

Posted by: Kimberly Walker

The Bank of Canada held interest rates steady at 1% and signalled a cautious approach to future rate rises. The bank is forecasting a continued rise in inflation, reaching 2% in the second half of 2018 and for the economy to grow at above-potential with 3.1% for this year, 2.1% for 2018 and 1.5% in […]

Read More
26 Oct

Payment frequency, does it really make a difference?

General

Posted by: Kimberly Walker

It has been said that there are two certainties in life; death and taxes. Well, as it relates to your mortgage, the single certainty is that you will pay back what you borrowed, plus interest. However, how you make your mortgage payments, the payment frequency, is somewhat up to you! The following is a look […]

Read More
25 Oct

Don’t ‘Fix’ It If It Isn’t Broken

General

Posted by: Kimberly Walker

By now the media, along with multiple mortgage brokers’ social media feeds, have likely let you know that more changes to your ability to get a mortgage are arriving soon. But so what? Should you care? SHORT VERSION; Probably Not. LONG VERSION; The five ’W’’s follow to help answer the above questions and more; Who […]

Read More
24 Oct

These are Canada’s 10 priciest neighbourhoods

General

Posted by: Kimberly Walker

Vancouver West Side is the priciest neighbourhood in Canada on a price-per-square-foot basis, and the city dominates the top 10. A nationwide study by Century 21 reveals that Vancouver West Side has a PPSF of $1,201 with the city’s Downtown second at $962.75 and Toronto Downtown taking third place at $818.86. Metro Vancouver is home […]

Read More
24 Oct

Helping Children with A Down Payment

General

Posted by: Kimberly Walker

Although home prices in Toronto and Vancouver seem to have stabilized recently, they are still at historical levels. The average home price in these two major Canadian cities are still well over $1 Million. Unsurprisingly, first-time homebuyers are finding it increasingly difficult to get onto the “property ladder”. It is now harder than ever for […]

Read More
23 Oct

Why longer amortization may start trending

General

Posted by: Kimberly Walker

When the new tighter restrictions on mortgage lending come into effect in just over two months they could spark a new trend – longer amortizations. With OSFI’s stress test requiring borrowers of uninsured mortgages to prove they can afford payments 2% above their contract rate, fewer people will qualify. However, switching to a longer amortization […]

Read More