Breaking your mortgage: ‘It’s either worth it or it’s not’

Fixed-rate mortgages are at historic lows but if you are locked in to a contract with your bank, those benefits may be yet elusive. First you have to do the math to see if breaking your contract is worth the penalties you may face. “There is no grey area,” says Cindy David, a certified financial […]

Home ownership becoming more affordable despite rising debt

By Julian Beltrame OTTAWA—Despite ongoing concerns about household debt, home ownership is becoming more affordable in Canada, not less, says new research by the Royal Bank. RBC’s latest report says home affordability actually improved in the final months of 2011 for the second consecutive quarter, thanks to softening house prices and income gains. Owning a […]

No housing crash for Canada: BMO

Canada will likely avoid a crash or serious correction in its “somewhat pricey” housing market, with the possible exception of Vancouver, says a new paper from Bank of Montreal. The analysis by BMO economists suggests alarms about Canada’s housing market by international observers, from the International Monetary Fund to The Economist magazine, are exaggerated or […]

Searching for a home

By: Wayne Karl   November 4, 2011 – Ever notice how many developers boast their new community is “just minutes from shopping, schools and all the amenities!”? And that “Everything you need is right at your doorstep”? This is not just marketing gimmickry at work. These factors really matter, as such attractions are critical in determining a […]

B.C. lawyer tackles CIBC over mortgages

Garry Marr, Financial Post · Oct. 21, 2011 You just made the largest purchase of your life based on borrowing more than you ever have before. Are you really going to bother reading that 25-page contract with all the rules on your mortgage? The answer is usually no. The truth is you should. The ambiguity in […]

Canadian home prices resilient in third quarter

Toronto— The Canadian Press Royal LePage says home prices remained unexpectedly resilient across Canada‘s housing market in the third quarter, but the overall strength is concealing signs of moderation in some regions. In its House Price Survey and Market Survey Forecast, Royal LePage says that Canada’s residential real estate market benefited from very low interest rates and a […]

Canadian home prices rise to new record

Financial Post Staff  Sep 28, 2011 – 10:10 AM ET | Last Updated: Sep 28, 2011 10:48 AM ET OTTAWA — Resale home prices in Canada rose in July for the eighth consecutive month to a new record high, according to the Teranet-National Bank Composite House Price Index. The index, which tracks price changes for repeat sales of […]

Home ownership trumps renting in personal finance stakes

Owning the roof over your head should still be a goal for most Canadians as paying rent is like paying someone else’s mortgage, experts say. The Bank of Canada gave its clearest signal so far this week that interest rates are set to rise, while a growing number of real estate watchers and some economists […]

Our Parents’ First Mortgage

81% of Ontarians say it’s more difficult to own a home now than it was for their parents. That comes from this Ipsos Reid/Ontario Real Estate Association survey. That’s interesting because our parents had to put down 25% to purchase a home. Young buyers nowadays can get their foot in the door with just 5% down. […]

You better buy a house in this market before it’s too late.

Garry Marr, Financial Post · Jun. 22, 2011 | You better buy a house in this market before it’s too late. How many times have you heard those words? The panic thinking is driven partially by prices continuing to rise to record levels but also by the sense that near-record-low interest rates could rise at […]

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