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 […]

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 […]

This week, OSFI (Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions) announced that effective January 1, 2018 the new Residential Mortgage Underwriting Practices and Procedures (Guidelines B-20) will be applied to all Federally Regulated Lenders. Note that this currently does not apply to Provincially Regulated Lenders (Credit Unions) but it is possible they will abide by […]

Why, why, why it is so challenging for entrepreneurs to obtain a mortgage in Canada? If you’re among the 2.7 million Canadians who are self-employed, regrettably your income is not as easy to document as someone who’s traditionally employed. Since 2008, mortgage regulations in Canada have made it more challenging for those who work for […]

The process of getting a development permit in the City of Vancouver has improved over the past year and is expected to continue to do so. The city’s mayor says that efforts to speed up processing times for new permits have proved successful even as the City deals with a record level of development. Single-story […]

There was a slight increase in home sales in September compared to August but most markets were down from a year ago. Figures from the Canadian Real Estate Association show a 2.1% rise in sales through the MLS system month-over-month but sales were lower than September 2016 in three quarters of local markets. Activity was […]

I’ve heard brokers say more than once that mortgages are a commodity, by definition a commodity is a basic good used in commerce that is interchangeable with other commodities of the same type. That doesn’t sound like mortgages to me. While the core product is always the same, money lent that is secured by real […]

Another organisation has added its voice to those opposing OSFI proposals to introduce tougher lending restrictions for uninsured mortgages and warns it could harm competition in the mortgage industry. The Fraser Institute says that requiring a stress test with a margin of 2 percentage points above the agreed rate for those homebuyers with at least […]

Deciding to borrow money to launch your small business startup is a big decision. It’s the second biggest decision after deciding to start the business. Since it is a big decision, it requires much thought and research before taking the leap. There are multiple ways to fund a small business startup, and it’s important to […]

There was a decline in Canada’s housing starts in September, following eight months of trending upwards. CMHC reports that the six-month trend of starts slipped to 214,821 last month from 220,573 in August. “Housing starts are trending lower in September after increasing for eight consecutive months,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s chief economist. “Nevertheless, new home […]