MAY SHOWS SIGNS OF IMPROVEMENT IN BC AND ALBERTA Statistics released late last week by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) show that national home sales increased in May. Together with monthly gains in the previous two months, activity in May reached its highest level since early last year when the new B-20 stress testing […]

Street Capital Finally Finds its White Knight After a year of searching for urgently needed growth capital, Canada’s sixth-biggest broker channel lender got the boost it required. Street Capital Group has agreed to be bought by RFA Capital. The deal will take Street private. RFA is acquiring all shares for $0.68, a 36% premium over Friday’s closing […]

INTEREST RATE CUT MORE LIKELY THAN HIKE IN 2019 When the Bank of Canada decided this month to keep its benchmark interest rates stable at 1.75%, it signalled the weakening economy makes it unlikely a rate increase is anywhere on the horizon. Inflation is not where it should be, we’re not in a deflation mode […]

3 “RULES OF LENDING” – WHAT BANKS LOOK AT WHEN YOU APPLY FOR A MORTGAGE Buying a home is usually the biggest purchase most people make and there are a lot of factors to consider. Our job is to provide you with a much information (as you can handle!!) so you make the best decision […]

5 REASONS TO CONSIDER BUYING A CONDOMINIUM APARTMENT OR TOWN HOME If you are thinking about purchasing a home in the near future, here are some reasons you may consider buying a condo apartment or town home. You should also be aware there are some cons as well. Pros They are relatively inexpensive. As your footprint […]

Siddall Launches Latest Volley in War of Words with the Mortgage Industry For anyone who has been following the saga, it should be plainly obvious where Evan Siddall, head of the CMHC, stands on the mortgage stress test. In a recent editorial, we took an in-depth look at Siddall’s at-times passionate defence of stricter mortgage qualification […]

99 YEAR MORTGAGES AND THE POWER OF AMORTIZATION Back in the late 80’s, the Japanese housing market came to a grinding halt. Homes were no longer affordable for your average Japanese consumer. The government came to the rescue with a novel idea: 99 year mortgages. You could buy a house, pay lower more affordable payments, […]

WHO REALLY SETS INTEREST RATES? A recent article in the Huffington Post addressed the pricing strategy for the Big Six Banks, BMO, CIBC, National Bank, RBC, Scotia and TD and who really sets interest rates.  RBC announcing a rate drop in January and the other banks soon followed.  For consumers the banks are seen as […]

3 STEPS TO TAKE YOU FROM PRE-APPROVAL TO GETTING THE KEYS Picture this: You’ve finally been able to put away enough for a down-payment on your dream home. It’s taken you five years of diligent saving, but you did it! You have also been diligently working on improving your credit score and paying off debts […]

WHAT IS AN UNINSURABLE MORTGAGE? With the mortgage rule changes in recent years, lenders have had to make some adjustments to their rate offerings. There are different tiers and rate pricing based on the following 3 categories: 1) Insured – a mortgage that is insured with mortgage default insurance through one of Canada’s mortgage insurers, […]