28 Sep

CIBC Holds Firm on Interest Rate Prediction

General

Posted by: John Dunford

One of Canada’s largest mortgage lenders says that the Bank of Canada is in no hurry to make another increase in interest rates. CIBC said Thursday that it is holding firm on its prediction that Governor Stephen Poloz will not make another increase until spring 2018 despite some strong economic indicators. The bank’s Capital Markets division says […]

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22 Sep

Buyers To Face Even Greater Hurdles

General

Posted by: John Dunford

Last year’s mortgage rule changes placed roadblocks in front of millions of would-be buyers, but increased rates and future regulatory action may prove even more difficult for them to overcome. That’s according to one leading economist, who argues the latest rate increases and the addition of another round of mortgage rules represent major hurdles in […]

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15 Sep

What You Need to Know About the Equifax Data Breach

General

Posted by: John Dunford

Equifax, one of the three main credit reporting companies, said this week that a major data breach exposed Social Security numbers and other important information of millions of people. The breach affected about 143 million in the United States, as well as some people in Canada and the United Kingdom, but Equifax didn’t provide a […]

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7 Sep

Bank of Canada Forges Ahead With Rate Hike as Economy Surges (1)

General

Posted by: John Dunford

The Bank of Canada forged ahead with another interest rate hike in a nod to the country’s surging economy, while signaling its appetite for further tightening may be curbed by a rising Canadian dollar and sluggish inflation. Policy makers raised their benchmark rate for a second time since July, by 25 basis points to 1 […]

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7 Sep

Prepare for Interest Rate Rise Says CIBC Economist

General

Posted by: John Dunford

The Bank of Canada is expected to increase interest rates this week according to CIBC economist Avery Shenfeld. “After [last week’s] blowout GDP figures, we now see little reason for the BoC to wait before hiking interest rates again,” Shenfeld wrote in a client note, adding that it is a close call due to the […]

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4 Sep

Analyzing Years of Mortgage Rule Impact

General

Posted by: John Dunford

The most recent mortgage rule changes have had a much smaller impact on the market than previous policy changes and there’s a simple explanation for that, according to a new report. There has been an unprecedented number of housing policy changes over the past year-and-a-half, according to TD Bank, and each has been aimed at […]

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29 Aug

TD Bank Warning Over OSFI Mortgage Proposals

General

Posted by: John Dunford

Further increases in mortgage regulations could see a significant cut in housing demand according to a new report from TD Bank. In its regional housing outlook published Monday, TD chief economist Beata Caranci and economist Diana Petramala say that despite “unprecedented” housing policy changes in the past 18 months, the impact on demand so far from […]

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29 Aug

Housing Bubble Has Already Burst Says BMO’s Porter

General

Posted by: John Dunford

Not everyone agrees that Toronto has been in a housing bubble but BMO’s chief economist is in no doubt. “By any traditional definition, we were in the grips of a full-on bubble earlier this year,” Doug Porter told CBC’s Metro Morning on Friday. He backed that up with stats on house prices rising 40% in around […]

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29 Aug

Housing Not Canadian Households’ Largest Expense Says Study

General

Posted by: John Dunford

Housing costs and other expenses such as food and clothing may have increased in recent years but the average Canadian family spent more on taxes in 2016 according to a new study by the Fraser Institute. Average family earnings in 2016 were $83,105, the study says. Housing including rent and mortgage payments, together with food […]

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22 Aug

Institute Makes Mortgage Warning

General

Posted by: John Dunford

Think tank crunches mortgage stats, urges policy makers to take a close look at mortgage habits and the impact of interest rates. Canadians have qualified for much larger mortgages over the past two decades due to record-low interest rates, and that has impacted affordability according to the Fraser Institute. “Increased borrowing power, brought about by […]

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