National Mortgage Related News Archive

• Some mortgages come with spending money
  Mar 16, 2010 — The arrival of spring signals summer moving season and the return of even more heated competition between banks for consumer mortgages. Case in point: the current flogging of cash-back mortgages. Cash-back mortgages give consumers a percentage of their mortgage in cash to spend as they please.
  Source: Canwest News Service, Kelowna.com
  
• Homeownership gets more costly
  Mar 15, 2010 — Homeownership costs in Canada grew in all housing segments late last year, driven by rising home prices. Costs rose in the fourth quarter of 2009 and will likely continue to climb, Royal Bank of Canada's quarterly housing report said Monday. Homeownership costs will keep rising as strong demand and a limited supply of homes put pressure on prices, the bank cautioned.
  Source: Tavia Grant, The Globe and Mail
  
• Real estate market blows off some steam
  Mar 15, 2010 — Canadian existing home sales edged lower last month, as a cooling Vancouver resale market offset red-hot activity in Toronto, the Canadian Real Estate Association said Monday. Home sales through the association's Multiple Listing Service fell 1.5% in February to a seasonally adjusted 42,799. Activity declined mostly in Vancouver, but this was offset by an equally large gain in Toronto.
  Source: News Staff, Canoe Money
  
• Don't just fall into a debt hole
  Mar 15, 2010 — If you want to make Gail Vaz-Oxlade's blood boil, just mention debt. The host of the financial makeover television show Til Debt Do Us Part and author of the Canadian bestseller Debt-Free Forever believes easy access to cheap credit, along with a reluctance to take control of their financial situations, are most people's downfall in the IOU department.
  Source: Roma Luciw, Globe Investor
  
• Can a house be a retirement plan?
  Mar 12, 2010 — I am often asked the same question advisors are: Should I invest in my home, pay off my mortgage or should I save and invest for retirement? Let me say right up front that comparing the investment value of a home with the investment value of financial investments is a complicated, tedious and often inconclusive process and I have deliberately left the tax considerations to the tax experts. Regardless, I think it is useful to review some of the key issues.
  Source: Peter Drake, Advisor.ca
  
• The Flaherty effect
  Mar 12, 2010 — Many of us have been enjoying supremely attractive interest rates on mortgages. However, with rates having been at historic lows for quite some time and with the economy heating up, the only direction rates will go from here is up. The finance minister wants to ensure borrowers are in good financial shape to withstand rate hikes, which are expected to hit this summer.
  Source: Helen Morris, National Post
  
• Xceed Mortgage swings to Q1 net loss
  Mar 11, 2010 — Insured mortgages provider Xceed Mortgage Corp. swung to a first-quarter loss, hurt by negative fair-value adjustments related to its discontinued business line of uninsured mortgages. The company posted a net loss of $11.8 million, or 42 cents a share, compared with a profit of $3.3 million, or 12 cents a share, in the year ago period.
  Source: Reuters, Financial Post
  
• Bank of Canada 75 Years Later
  Mar 11, 2010 — Seventy-five years ago today the newly constituted Bank of Canada took over responsibility for Canada's currency. It was supposed to have done so 10 days earlier but British American Bank Note Co. was late with its initial delivery of cash. Since 1935, when the Bank came into being, prices in Canada have risen 16-fold. What costs $100 now would have cost just $6.25 then. It makes you wish the banknotes had been delayed a lot longer.
  Source: William Watson, National Post
  
• Why buying a house is a bad investment
  Mar 11, 2010 — More than two centuries ago, the economist Adam Smith produced his landmark tome, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, in which he wrote, "a dwelling-house, as such, contributes nothing to the revenue of its inhabitant." The father of modern economics placed housing in the same category as clothing and furniture - useful consumer goods that do not generate wealth. For the homeowner, a house is a "part of his expense, and not of his revenue." Were Smith alive to make such a statement today, he would no doubt be regarded as a heretic.
  Source: Joe Castaldo, Canadian Business
  
• New home prices climb again in Jan
  Mar 11, 2010 — New home prices in Canada kept climbing in January, rising 0.4 percent from the previous month as expected, according to Statistics Canada on Thursday. The Canadian housing market slumped during the recession last year but never underwent a U.S. style collapse. Strong sales and price gains in recent months have led to worries of a made in Canada housing bubble and prompted the government to tighten mortgage lending rules in February.
  Source: Louise Egan, Reuters
  
• Choose mortgage words carefully
  Mar 10, 2010 — When it comes to your mortgage contract, watch your language. Most consumers only look at their mortgage contract, one of the most important documents they will ever sign, just before they are about to close on a house, says Toronto real-estate lawyer Steve Brett.
  Source: Gary Marr, Financial Post
  
• Canada's profitable banks set sights on growth
  Mar 10, 2010 — Canada's banks have moved out of crisis mode and are shifting their attention to finding new growth in a tough economy. "We are emerging [from the crisis] in a stronger position than when we went in," Rick Waugh, Scotiabank's chief executive officer, said in a conference call after his bank reported record quarterly revenues and a 17-per-cent jump in profits.
  Source: Tara Perkins, The Globe and Mail
  
• Prepare early to conquer your mortgage later
  Mar 10, 2010 — Your first mortgage can be a scary thing, but if you plan ahead and stay committed, you can conquer it. "I like to have clients pretend they're making a mortgage payment before they buy. Put away $1,000 or $1,500 every month for three to six months, that way you either collect a larger down payment or more money for incidentals while seeing if you can handle a mortgage," recommends Gerri Vaughan, a mortgage specialist with Invis in Edmonton.
  Source: Rafael Brusilow, Metro News
  
• Refinancing tempting at these rates
  Mar 09, 2010 — After months of mild fluctuations in fixed-rate mortgage rates, pressure seems to be building for an increase. The five-year Government of Canada bond yield leaped 0.27 of a percentage point last week, and rose a little bit more yesterday. Where the five-year Canada bond yield goes, five-year mortgage rates generally follow.
  Source: Rob Carrick, The Globe and Mail
  
• Bringing down the house
  Mar 09, 2010 — International Monetary Fund economist John Kiff has spent the past few months looking at how mortgage markets in various developed countries weathered the financial crisis. His conclusion about Canada's mortgage market: "boring, but effective."
  Source: Barrie McKenna, The Globe and Mail
  
• Insured Stated Income Programs Tighten Up
  Mar 09, 2010 — CMHC has felt for a while that too many people apply for stated income mortgages that shouldn't. Therefore, effective April 9, CMHC is adding more restrictions to its Self-Employed stated income product. Self-employed borrowers who choose to apply under this program, and not verify their income using traditional means, will have to put down 10% when purchasing a home instead of 5% today. These borrowers will also only be able to refinance up to 85 per cent loan to value instead of 90 per cent.
  Source: Editor, Canadian Mortgage Trends
  
• Builders return to pre-recession levels
  Mar 09, 2010 — Builders started three times the number of Edmonton-area homes in February as they did a year earlier -- showing just how far the housing market had fallen last year. But now there are worries that possible higher interest rates and tighter lending restrictions could dampen the rebound's bounce.
  Source: Bill Mah, Edmonton Journal
  
• Canada's Big Five banks see their profits soar
  Mar 09, 2010 — Canada's five biggest banks saw their profits soar by nearly two-thirds in the latest quarter as a rebound in the economy from last year's recession and continued strength in the housing and stock markets helped their bottom lines.
  Source: The Candian Press, CTV
  
• Home building climbs in February
  Mar 08, 2010 — Housing activity picked up speed last month, topping expectations as builders broke ground on condominiums and other multiple-unit dwellings. Home building has revved back to life after the recession caused housing starts to fall below 120,000 last spring. Low borrowing costs and a rush to beat a provincial sales tax in some provinces are spurring demand - and builders are responding accordingly.
  Source: Tavia Grant, Report on Business
  
• Young aged 18 - 24 twice as likely to buy homes
  Mar 08, 2010 — The portion of Canadians very likely to purchase a home the next two years has risen to 10% from 7% two years ago, according to the 17th Annual RBC Homeownership Study of 2,047 Canadians, released today. Younger folk aged 18 to 24 are leading the charge, with those "very likely to buy" almost doubling to 15% from 8% per in 2009.
  Source: Jonathan Chevreau, National Post
  
• Albertans most optimistic about housing market
  Mar 08, 2010 — Albertans are the most likely to say they are very likely to buy a home in the next two years, says the 17th Annual RBC Homeownership Survey. The survey also indicated 92 per cent of respondents believe that buying a home is a good investment. Among those looking to buy they are also the most likely (40 per cent) to say they will buy within the next year.
  Source: Mario Toneguzzi, Edmonton Journal
  
• 'Panic' sets in among Victoria home buyers
  Mar 08, 2010 — New parents Bliss Prema and husband Seamus Russell have struck out five times when making offers on houses. In each case, they lost out in bidding wars. The couple has found that hunting for their first house in the most popular price range between $400,000 and $600,000 in Victoria can be frantic, frustrating and emotionally draining.
  Source: Carla Wilson, Times Colonist
  
• Shop around for a reverse mortgage
  Mar 05, 2010 — Indeed, one of the downsides of a reverse mortgage is that if people hold the product for a long time, or if the value of their house fails to increase as much as the above-normal interest rates they're charged for their reverse mortgage, it can seriously erode the equity cashed out when the house is eventually sold or left as an inheritance when the homeowner dies. Yet there are a few instances when a reverse mortgage makes sense.
  Source: Ray Turchansky, Edmonton Journal
  
• Facts for first-time home buyers
  Mar 05, 2010 — With so many diverse factors to take into consideration when buying a new home, it is no surprise that first-time home buyers need a little help de-mystifying the process.
  Source: The Black Press, BC Local News
  
• How to spend - and save - more efficiently
  Mar 05, 2010 — Rob Carrick's tips edition, along with links to a low mortgage rate offer from a big bank, a new discount program aimed at families, and a new travel rewards credit card.
  Source: Rob Carrick, Globe Investor
  
• Ottawa pulls bank aid
  Mar 05, 2010 — Ottawa is pulling the plug on most of the aid measures it created for banks, shifting its priority to consumer protection. The 2010 budget signals that the government believes it has helped the banks pull through the crisis in strong shape, and its concern now lies with indebted bank customers.
  Source: Tara Perkins
  
• Diversify your mortgage
  Mar 04, 2010 — You can't decide what to do with your mortgage? The good news is you don't have to. Anyone negotiating a mortgage today is labouring over whether to lock in the rate. The Bank of Canada recently reiterated its pledge to keep its key lending rate at a record low until July, but has not committed to anything past the end of the second quarter. And that has everybody guessing.
  Source: Garry Marr, Montreal Gazette
  
• Toronto luxury home sales buoy market
  Mar 04, 2010 — In her search for a new home, Jean Rideout budgeted what she thought was an "ample" figure of $1 million. But the Toronto woman quickly found there was a yawning disconnect between her idea of what an upscale property should be and what she would eventually find in the city's better neighbourhoods. "I didn't expect a palace. But you're not even getting parking in some areas for that price. I guess a million dollars doesn't go as far as it used to," Rideout, an executive with a telecommunications company, said with a laugh.
  Source: Tony Wong, Your Home
  
• Extra space, extra income
  Mar 04, 2010 — Building a secondary suite in your house can be a cost-effective way to provide accommodation for a family member or to create new rental space. The term "secondary suite" is generally used to describe an independent dwelling unit that is separate from the principal dwelling in a house and has its own kitchen and bathroom. It can be located either within the principal dwelling or in an accessory building on the same lot. These units are also known as "accessory apartments" and "in-law suites."
  Source: Mark Salerno, Home and Garden
  
• Budgets in a dangerous time
  Mar 04, 2010 — Thursday's federal budget must confront a hard truth: We are entering a dark decade that will test the will and ability of governments across Canada. Facing that truth and meeting it head-on will limit the pain to come. But democracies rarely work that way. The temptation for government and opposition politicians is to ignore gathering clouds, or promise to make them disappear, without saying how.
  Source: John Ibbitson, The Globe and Mail