I came across this article in the Financial Post today that confirms some of the things I have been writing previously, and makes some interesting points about clients renewing their mortgages, and the handcuffs that the changes have placed on those renewing their mortgages that they qualified for with the looser mortgage rules previously. (more…)

The Bank of Canada made a decision to keep the prime lending rate as it is for now, but removed the guarantee that mortgage rates will stay low through to July. This is a strong indication that the Bank of Canada will increase their prime rate by at least 0.25% at the next update in June. (more…)

Based on the article Canadians struggle with high housing costs in the Vancouver Sun, 67 percent of Vancouver households struggle with housing costs, and cited a problem with affordable housing. (I know its a shock that Vancouver housing is unaffordable…try and contain your disbelief). (more…)

Today, Toronto Dominion Bank (TD) and The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) increased their 5 year fixed rates by 0.6%, which is a significant increase. It is expected that other bank lenders will follow with their posted rates. These institutions usually price their discounted mortgage in relation to their posted mortgage rates, so it could be a signal of rate increases to come. (more…)

Today could be the day you save yourself hundreds of dollars a month!

This is a quick note for everyone that has a variable rate mortgage with a bank or credit union. With the anticipated rate increases coming soon and the opportunity to get locked in right now available, many of you may be thinking about locking your mortgage in.
(more…)

I came across the article Mortgages still the story of the day for the big banks in the Globe and Mail. It is a long article and the title of the article seems to not be entirely consistent with everything stated in the article (this seems to be pretty common practice in newspaper articles from what I have seen). The article is rather wishy-washy in how it comes to the conclusion of an increase in mortgage rates, but here is the summary:
(more…)

I have now had some time to think about and digest more the changes that are coming April 19th to the mortgage rules, the ones that are published, and the ones that aren’t. Everyone is still cloudy on exactly how the changes will be implemented and additionally what effect it will have on the market, especially in Vancouver. (more…)

Another new item of news with mortgage implications has come out today:

Pressure grows for Bank of Canada to hike rates

In sharp contrast to my variable mortgage outlook from one day ago, this new article talks about very strong growth in the Canadian economy the past quarter, and how there is pressure to raise rates as soon as next rate update in 5 weeks from now (the last update happened this morning and mortgage rates were unchanged). (more…)