About the Blog
A mortgage blog chock full of advice and tips to help you better understand key terms, and the latest mortgage news.
Should the Government Intervene in the Canadian Housing Market?
The Supply of housing stock has been out of sync with Demand for quite some time, which helps explain real estate’s resiliency through recessions and the current pandemic. Ultra-low interest rates and demographics are driving demand. Many see this as a “once in a lifetime” opportunity to secure a mortgage for less than 2%. There’s…
Canadian Mortgage Professional Magazine Hall of Fame 2020! “It’s a long way to the top – but the best leaders take people with them on their journey. The members of CMP’s 2020 Hall of Fame class have not only been successful in their own careers, but have also prioritized collaborating with fellow mortgage professionals and…
Mortgage Finance with Bill Macklem & Jay Coupar – Vancouver Real Estate
Mortgage Finance Discussion with Jay Coupar & Bill Macklem Discussing the stability of the Canadian housing market, the ongoing supply and infrastructure problems in the lower mainland, and strategies for first time home buyers and investors.
Lest We Forget
In honour of Remembrance Day, Bill has found a copy of an interview Delta Cable did with his Dad, back in 1998. Dad has since passed, but it was good to watch the video and hear the War stories again. Lest we forget Stay safe and take care everyone
Federal Budget 2019 – Actions for Homebuyers
In its fourth fiscal plan, the Trudeau government spent its entire revenue windfall leaving the deficit projection little changed. In this election budget, Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced $22.8 billion over six years in new spending initiative mostly for homebuyers, students and seniors. Trudeau promised in his first budget to have eliminated all red ink…
Get To Know Title Insurance
Are you officially Mortgage Free? CONGRATULATIONS! That is a monumental milestone to achieve! With that significant accomplishment, you should look at obtaining a Title Insurance Policy. What most people don’t realize is that when you had a mortgage, the lender will likely have had this in place for you. Once your mortgage is paid out…
How to Renew Your Mortgage in 5 Simple Steps!
If you have a mortgage, you’ll be completing a mortgage renewal when your current term has finished. While most Canadians spend a lot of time and expend tons of effort shopping for an initial mortgage, the same is generally not the case when looking at mortgage renewals. So what is a mortgage renewal? Mortgages terms…
Bank of Canada Turns the Tide
For the first time in seven years, the Bank of Canada announced today that it was hiking its key overnight rate by a quarter percentage point (25 basis points) bringing it to 0.75 percent as the economy has staged a broadly based economic expansion this year. In a break from tradition, the Bank has taken…
Housing Demand Normalizes as Supply Dwindles
Housing Demand Normalizes as Supply Dwindles The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 9,826 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in March, down 21.8 per cent from the same period last year. Total sales dollar volume was $6.79 billion, down 30 per cent from March…
BC Introduces Innovative New Program to Help First-Time Homebuyers
In a move to help BC citizens and residents buy their first home, the BC government announced today that it is launching a new program to augment down payments for first-time buyers. The B.C. Home Owner Mortgage and Equity Partnership program contributes to the amount first-time homebuyers have already saved for their down payment, providing…
Why Trudeau’s Tighter Mortgage Rules Are Likely Canada’s Last
(Bloomberg) — In 2006, in the middle of one the hottest years on record for Canadian housing, then Bank of Canada Governor David Dodge sent a testy letter to his counterpart at the country’s mortgage insurer warning about lax standards fueling demand for homes. Today, Dodge has new words of caution: worry more about supply.…
Morneau Takes Out the Big Guns to Slow Housing – New Stress Test & More
Ottawa unveiled major initiatives to slow housing activity both by potentially discouraging foreign home purchases and, more importantly, by making it more difficult for Canadians to get mortgages. As well, the Finance Minister is limiting the degree to which mortgage lenders can buy portfolio insurance on mortgages with downpayments of 20% or more. Ottawa has…