Canada’s banking regulator warned lenders Monday not to become complacent about the way they underwrite mortgages, reminding them that low interest rates and rising property values aren’t guaranteed. Jeremy Rudin of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions said prudent lending practices have never been more important because of the current economic environment. Get news stories […]

As the dust is settling on the major changes to the mortgage qualifying rate and it is back to work as usual, some Canadians are starting to realize that there were some other significant changes that affect us all. Starting this year you must now declare which property is your principal residence. There will be a […]

Recently introduced mortgage regulations should be assessed to see how they are working before any more are introduced, the CEO of mortgage insurer Canada Guaranty says. Speaking to the Globe and Mail, Andrew Charles said that first-time buyers are already struggling to become homeowners and are not the reason for price gains in hot markets […]

It has been dubbed one of the most important insurance cases of its generation – and now a protracted battle regarding title insurance has come to an end in the Supreme Court of Canada. The court has decided to uphold a ruling, dismissing an insurer’s appeal – and in the process has prompted many title […]

Last week we touched on TD’s 0.15% move with existing variable rate mortgage clients. There is nothing new to add as TD remains the only lender to make such a move with variable rate clients. Perhaps TD back downs down soon, perhaps other banks join them – time will tell. The fresh news on rates […]

Did Prime go up? No. Did my Variable rate mortgage rate change? No, not unless your variable rate mortgage is with TD. So the Bank of Canada did not raise rates? No, in fact they are more likely to lower rates than increase them. But TD raised rates? Yes, but only by 0.15% and only […]

Analysts have revised their expectation for an interest rate cut following the result of the US presidential election. Experts were talking of early 2018 for any change in the Bank of Canada rate but now believe that a cut could be required sooner if exports are affected by new White House policies according to a […]

Canadian employment rose 44,000 (+0.2%) in October–much stronger than expected. But all of the gain was because of more part-time work, as full-time employment fell. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 7.0% as more people joined the labour force.  Compared to one year ago, the total number of hours worked was little changed and employment […]

Don’t blame TD for being the first to act, argues one veteran, but do expect further interruption to the industry that will make mortgages more expensive for the consumer. “We’ve been talking about this in the mortgage world for a while now. All these mortgage changes affect the monolines; all these capital requirements require rate […]

In the wake of stricter federal mortgage rules intended to moderate the overworked pace of Canada’s real estate sector, Finance Minister Bill Morneau said that the government has no further plans to cool down the markets at the moment. Speaking to reporters on October 28, Morneau assured the public that the ministry will remain watchful […]