Why banks want you to sign the renewal agreement that they mail out to you. Most banks boast a higher than 90% renewal rate on their mortgages (some even higher than 95%). Since it costs them a lot more money to acquire a new client vs. keeping an existing one, banks love the savings of […]

Brokers may have just found their campaign issue, with an industry association calling for something that could bring thousands more buyers into the market The CMBA is advocating for 30-year amortizations for first-time homebuyers in the wake of a Conservative Party proposal to increase RRSP withdrawal limits. “The Canadian Mortgage Brokers Association urges the implementation […]

Toronto has been added to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s list of the country’s riskiest housing markets, with the insurer citing a combination of price acceleration and overvaluation. “The rise in house prices have not been matched by growth in personal disposable income, giving rise to a modest risk of overvaluation,” said Bob Dugan, […]

A report from the Bank of Montreal says that despite the technical recession there is no sign of that in the housing market. The mortgage lender’s analysis of the market from economist Robert Kavcic is that, although housing starts have slipped back month-over-month, the overall numbers show a healthy housing market. In a client note […]

Interest rates are set to stay at “ultra-low” levels in Canada for some months yet according to one mortgage lender. Reacting to the recent monetary policy announcement from the Fed, Canadalend.com says that it believes the US won’t raise interest rates until 2016 and its president Bob Aggarwal says that will mean good news for […]

The rules surrounding the income from rental units considered in home loan applications submitted to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation are changing. The agency announced Monday that from September 28 it will allow 100 per cent of the rental income from a unit to be considered for new loan applications submitted to it for mortgage insurance. That means […]

One big bank believes the housing market will continue to be a driving force for the Canadian economy, even despite predicted cooling in 2016.  “The housing sector is likely to remain a bright spot in 2015, but can be expected to cool next year as affordability continues to erode on the back of national home […]

Brokers are frustrated by the increase in rate shoppers and the number of clients being given incorrect information about how the Bank of Canada rate cut affects rates. “There is a lot of confusion among clients between fixed and variable rates; clients are wondering what affect the drop will have on fixed rates,” Michael Marini, […]

Rumblings of further mortgage tightening are already frustrating brokers, who argue they will unfairly affect the wrong type of buyer. “We’ve already seen the impact of the most recent changes and young professionals are really struggling to get into the market,” Dianne Smith of Invis told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “The housing and mortgage business is really dependent […]

Following yesterday’s decision by the Bank of Canada to cut interest rates to 0.5 per cent some major mortgage lenders have reduced their rates but as predicted they have stopped short of the full 25 basis points. Toronto-Dominion Bank was the first to react, just 12 minutes after the BoC announcement, but it jumped too […]