We’re paying off mortgages faster than thought

TORONTO – A new report suggests that Canadian homeowners are paying down their mortgages faster than they’re being given credit for. CIBC deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal says homeowners are taking advantage of record-low interest rates to accelerate their mortgage payments, and shorten their amortization periods. The CIBC World Markets study says that homeowners are […]

Scotiabank’s Porter Calls Canada Bubble Fears Overblown – Ask a Vancouver Mortgage Broker

Canadian concerns about a housing bubble are overblown in a country where credit growth is modest and the job market is stable, says Bank of Nova Scotia Chief Executive Officer Brian Porter. “Bubble is perhaps the most overused word since the global financial crisis,” Porter said in an interview yesterday in Washington, referring to Canada’s […]

Could targeted land transfer taxes cool Canada’s hottest markets?

Ontario’s real estate association has launched an ad campaign to explain why they believe land transfer taxes hurt the economy. But in a hot housing market, could the tax be used to cool particular regions, such as Toronto and Vancouver? Officials in Ottawa have made it clear they see no need to cool the market […]

What to do when there’s more value in your house than your marriage

He’s a one-percenter. He’s got the high-powered job, a vacation property and a $1.5-million detached home in the heart of midtown Toronto. About a decade ago, he and his wife were fortunate enough to get their foot into the housing market when it was still relatively sane — paying roughly half what the place is […]

Getting a divorce? Here are four things to consider before selling your real estate

About 70,000 Canadian marriages end up in divorce every year. It’s an emotional decision that is almost impossible to decouple from the financial implications that follow. Financial planners often say divorce is one of the worst decisions you can make, at least from a personal finance point of view. We know that, in general, married […]

The newly rich: How your world changes when downsizing creates a windfall

You may never have imagined yourself sitting on a financial windfall and wondering what to do with it but many older Canadians who have lived through the housing market’s finest hours are facing just that. If the investment in your family home has paid off handsomely over your lifetime, there might come a time to […]

While Toronto’s housing boom rolls on, some of the housing itself is falling apart

While Toronto’s housing boom rolls on, some of the housing itself is falling apart TORONTO — Toronto has more than 100,000 units under construction as developers and investors seek to cash in on condo prices that are up 25.7% in the city over the past five years. The trouble is, many buildings are so poorly […]

Canada may need tougher rules to slow overvalued housing market, IMF warns

Canada may need tougher rules to slow gains in the housing market, the International Monetary Fund said. Millennials lured by lengthy stretch of low rates spur Canada’s condo boom at their peril Experts warn of danger ahead when these young people, who have no experience in interest rate shocks, face a spike in mortgage payments. […]

It’s taxes versus a mortgage for the self-employed

Eighty of mortgage broker Dustan Woodhouse’s clients who were approved for a mortgage in 2011 wouldn’t have qualified for the same mortgage today. In the summer of 2012, Canada’s financial regulator introduced Guideline B-20 as a way of tightening up the banks’ approval processes. Part of B-20 requires banks to examine incomes more closely, but […]

Fixer-uppers not for the faint-of-heart – Ask a Vancouver Mortgage Broker

When Eileen Muzzin and her partner, Dan Pedersen, were searching for a home in Vancouver, they knew they wouldn’t be buying a place with granite countertops or a peekaboo view. With a modest budget – by Vancouver standards – they ultimately decided on a fixer-upper on the city’s east side. The couple got a 2,000-square-foot […]

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