Fraud Awareness Month

General Angela Calla 16 Mar

Did you know? March is fraud awareness month in the mortgage industry, which makes this is a great time to talk about title insurance!

As our insurance experts, FCT is a leading provider of title insurance and has some helpful information for you: 

For those who don’t know, title fraud can impact both homebuyers and homeowners. Someone whose title has been stolen, or who purchased a fraudulently listed property has few options for recourse – and many never imagine this could happen to them.

Industry experts are urging homebuyers to purchase title insurance as part of closing. Tim Hudak, CEO of the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) recently described title insurance as “the best safeguard” for homebuyers.

While title insurance is still an option for homeowners after they take possession, even years later, the best time to purchase a title insurance policy is NOW before an issue like fraud is discovered.

“There’s no reason you shouldn’t be getting title insurance, just like you wouldn’t buy a house without property and casualty insurance,” says Daniela DeTommaso, President of FCT. When a homeowner with a title insurance policy learns their title has been stolen, they benefit from more than just their coverage.

“The title insurance company also has a duty to defend,” says Daniela. “That means that the minute we find out [title fraud] has happened, we step in and we protect [the insured]. We pay all of the costs.”

Those costs include the legal fees to restore a homeowner’s title, which can be in the tens of thousands, as well as the costs of investigating the fraud and handling all the legal processes.

“It’s not only compensating for that significant loss,” Daniela continues. “It’s also providing that peace of mind knowing that someone’s going to navigate this process for you, and any costs […] having to prove that you are who you say you are.”

If you aren’t insured yet, don’t wait for your home to make headlines. Protect yourself and your property with an existing homeowner’s title insurance policy from FCT.

(This article is courtesy of the DLC March Newsletter)


Angela Calla is an 18-year award-winning woman of influence which sets her apart from the rest. Alongside her team, Angela passionately assists mortgage holders in acquiring the best possible mortgage. Through her presence on “The Mortgage Show” and through her best-selling book “The Mortgage Code, Angela educates prospective home buyers by providing vital information on mortgages. In light of this, her success awarded her with the 2020Business Leader of the Year Award.

Angela is a frequent go-to source for media and publishers across the country. For media interviews, speaking inquiries, or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at hello@countoncalla.ca or at 604-802-3983.

Click here to view the latest news on our blog. 

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Bank of mom and dad “becoming mandatory” for Canadians entering the housing market

General Angela Calla 15 Mar

New research shows that the bank of mom and dad or other family support is more important than ever for Canadians getting into the housing market.

The research comes from Zolo, a national real estate marketplace, which goes as far as to say borrowing from family is “becoming mandatory” to enter the market.

Zolo’s insights are based on a survey of homebuyers who purchased houses in 2022.

We’ve covered many stories about how long it would take to save up for a down payment in housing markets like Toronto and Vancouver, but family plays a huge part for many looking to skip that step.

Zolo found that 47% of Canadians receive money from family or an inheritance “to boost” their down payment. An additional 24% use their partner’s family’s money for a down payment.

Less surprising is that a large number of Canadians use borrowed money to buy homes, like through a line of credit or inheritance.

Mortgage expert Angela Calla told Zolo that it’s better to use family financial planning “and getting a gift from your parents as a part of an early inheritance” versus borrowing.

Another fascinating insight that probably is not very surprising to hear is that 49% of Gen Z browsers for properties on Instagram. This differs from other generations, like boomers, Gen Xers and millennials, who primarily use real estate listing websites.

One-quarter of respondents even said they browsed for homes via TikTok.

Zolo also said that millennials and Gen Z folk are “much more decisive” when it comes to knowing what they want.

Another interesting tidbit is what home buyers consider the most important rooms in the home. 30% of respondents said the living or family room was most important, followed by 20% who said the kitchen was most important, and 13% said bedrooms.

(This article is courtesy of the Daily Hive Vancouver)


Angela Calla is an 19-year award-winning woman of influence which sets her apart from the rest. Alongside her team, Angela passionately assists mortgage holders in acquiring the best possible mortgage. Through her presence on “The Mortgage Show” and through her best-selling book “The Mortgage Code, Angela educates prospective home buyers by providing vital information on mortgages. In light of this, her success awarded her with the 2020Business Leader of the Year Award.

Angela is a frequent go-to source for media and publishers across the country. For media interviews, speaking inquiries, or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at hello@countoncalla.ca or at 604-802-3983.

Click here to view the latest news on our blog. 

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Some Tips For Purchase Plus Improvements

General Angela Calla 15 Mar

Tip of the Week

The price is right, but the home needs a little TLC. That’s what Purchase Plus Improvements is for!

An appraisal outlining the current “as is” value and the “improved” value may be required. This often means a detailed list of improvements, including copies of the contracts outlining the scope of work & cost estimates.

If approved, then the full committed mortgage amount will be advanced to the solicitor at closing with instructions to hold back the cost of improvements until inspection by an approved appraiser confirms all work has been completed.


Angela Calla is an 19-year award-winning woman of influence which sets her apart from the rest. Alongside her team, Angela passionately assists mortgage holders in acquiring the best possible mortgage. Through her presence on “The Mortgage Show” and through her best-selling book “The Mortgage Code, Angela educates prospective home buyers by providing vital information on mortgages. In light of this, her success awarded her with the 2020Business Leader of the Year Award.

Angela is a frequent go-to source for media and publishers across the country. For media interviews, speaking inquiries, or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at hello@countoncalla.ca or at 604-802-3983.

Click here to view the latest news on our blog. 

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New Report Reveals Surprising Changes In How Canadians Bought Homes In 2022

General Angela Calla 14 Mar

A new report from Zolo showcases how significantly home buying has changed for Canadians in recent years. From 2020 through 2021, home prices broke records nationwide, with high consumer demand and a low inventory of homes for sale. However, in 2022, that trend started to reverse, leading to real estate markets that look dramatically different.

A recent Zolo survey polled 800 Canadians to ask them how, when, where, and why they bought a home in 2022. The results outlined in the 2023 Canada Housing Market Report show significant findings, including:

  • Family financial support is increasingly critical in home buying for almost half of Canadians.
  • 47% of homebuyers spent one to two years browsing real estate listings before starting to house hunt in earnest.
  • Virtual viewings and long-distance purchases are out of favour – in 2022, most respondents viewed their homes in person between two and four times before making an offer.

Almost Half of Homebuyers Receive Financial Help from Families.

In today’s landscape of high mortgage rates, financial gifts from family are the norm.

  • 47% of homebuyers reported receiving money from family as a gift or inheritance to boost their down payment.
  • 24% of respondents reported using their partner’s family’s money to make that purchase.

Family financial gifts are essential in making housing more attainable. Mortgage expert and author Angela Calla shared, “While today’s qualifications are income times three, for example, $100,000 per year qualifies you for a $300,000 mortgage, adding any outside debts to that usually reduces that ability.”

47% of Homebuyers Start House Hunting Years in Advance

Homebuyers use social media and real estate websites to find their ideal homes before viewing in person.

  • 47% of homebuyers spent one to two years browsing real estate listings before beginning their house-hunting journey.
  • When they did start looking, 31% of them only viewed between four and six homes before making an offer.

(This article is courtesy of Muskoka 411)


Angela Calla is an 19-year award-winning woman of influence which sets her apart from the rest. Alongside her team, Angela passionately assists mortgage holders in acquiring the best possible mortgage. Through her presence on “The Mortgage Show” and through her best-selling book “The Mortgage Code, Angela educates prospective home buyers by providing vital information on mortgages. In light of this, her success awarded her with the 2020Business Leader of the Year Award.

Angela is a frequent go-to source for media and publishers across the country. For media interviews, speaking inquiries, or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at hello@countoncalla.ca or at 604-802-3983.

Click here to view the latest news on our blog. 

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Three US Banks Fail and Markets Freak Out

General Angela Calla 14 Mar

US Policymakers Take Emergency Action To Protect Depositors At Failed Banks

Silicon Valley Bank (SVP) had a sterling reputation among the many tech start-ups it helped to finance. What brought SVB down was an old-fashioned bank run set off in 2021 by a series of bad decisions.

That year, the stock market boomed, interest rates were near zero, and the tech sector was flush with cash. Many start-ups held their working capital and other cash at SVB. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based lender saw total deposits mushroom to nearly $200 billion by March 2022, up from more than $60 billion two years earlier.

The bank invested much of that cash in long-dated Treasury bonds–normally considered a blue-chip investment. If held to maturity, the full value of the initial investment would have been returned to the bank. However, interest rates have risen dramatically since last March, causing the price of those bonds marked-to-market to decline precipitously. SVB risked large losses if it had to liquidate its securities portfolio.

This created a massive mismatch between the value of the deposits and its bond holdings. Moreover, this was not initially transparent to the depositors thanks to a 2018 relaxation of banking regulation much-favoured by SVB’s CEO. Regional banks were no longer required to mark their assets to market, nor were they required to succumb to the regular stress testing by the federal regulator where they prove they could survive black swan events. In addition, capital requirements became easier for these institutions.

In 2018, Trump eased oversight of small and regional lenders when he signed a sweeping measure designed to lower their costs of complying with regulations. An action in May 2018 lifted the threshold for being considered systemically important — a label imposing requirements including annual stress testing — to $250 billion in assets, up from $50 billion.

SVB had just crested $50 billion at the time. By early 2022, it swelled to $220 billion, ultimately ranking as the 16th-largest US bank.

In 2015, SVB Chief Executive Officer Greg Becker urged the government to increase the threshold, arguing it would otherwise lead to higher customer costs and “stifle our ability to provide credit to our clients.” He said that with a core business of traditional banking — taking deposits and lending to growing companies — SVB doesn’t pose systemic risks.

Another unique problem for SVB was the unusual concentration of deposits from certain types of clients. SVB’s depositors were heavily concentrated in the tight-knit world of start-ups and venture capitalists (VCs). In the past few weeks, VCs, founders, and other wealthy customers on social media and in private chats started discussing concerns that SVB could no longer pay its depositors. Some began to move their money out of the bank, triggering a loss of confidence and a run on the bank.

A Rapid Fall

On Friday,  Silicon Valley Bank became the biggest US bank to fail since the 2008 financial crisis.

Another beneficiary of easing regulatory oversight of small and midsize regional banks was New York-based Signature Bank, which also suffered a massive withdrawal of deposits. On Sunday, regulators shut down Signature, fearing that sudden mass withdrawals of deposits had left it on dangerous footing.

The back-to-back bank failures unnerved investors, customers and regulators, harkening back to the financial crisis in 2008, which toppled hundreds of banks, led to enormous taxpayer-financed bailouts, and sent the US and many other countries into a severe recession.

Canada, on the other hand, escaped much of the pain, experiencing a mild short recession. Although Canadian bank stocks plunged, our banking system was lauded worldwide as a regulatory example for the rest of the world.

Regulators Rush to Forestall Widespread Bank Runs

US Federal regulators scrambled to defuse the situation over the weekend, announcing on Sunday that all depositors would be paid back in full.

The Federal Reserve, Treasury and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced in a joint statement that “depositors will have access to all of their money starting Monday, March 13.” To assuage concerns about who would bear the costs, the agencies said that “no losses associated with the resolution of Silicon Valley Bank will be borne by the taxpayer.”

The agencies also said they would make whole depositors at Signature Bank, which the government disclosed was shut down on Sunday by New York bank regulators. The state officials said the move came “in light of market events, monitoring market trends, and collaborating closely with other state and federal regulators” to protect consumers and the financial system.

The President said on Sunday and Monday, “I am pleased that they reached a prompt solution that protects American workers and small businesses and keeps our financial system safe. The solution also ensures that taxpayer dollars are not put at risk.”

He added: “I am firmly committed to holding those responsible for this mess fully accountable and to continuing our efforts to strengthen oversight and regulation of larger banks so that we are not in this position again.”

The collapse of Signature marks the third significant bank failure within a week. Silvergate, a California-based bank that made loans to cryptocurrency companies, announced last Wednesday that it would cease operations and liquidate its assets.

Amid the wreckage, the Fed also announced that it would set up an emergency lending program, with approval from the Treasury, to funnel funding to eligible banks and help ensure that they can “meet the needs of all their depositors.”

The additional funding will be made available through the creation of a new Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP), offering loans of up to one year in length to banks, savings associations, credit unions, and other eligible depository institutions pledging U.S. Treasuries, agency debt and mortgage-backed securities, and other qualifying assets as collateral. These assets will be valued at par. The BTFP will be an additional source of liquidity against high-quality securities, eliminating an institution’s need to quickly sell those securities in times of stress.

The F.D.I.C. is usually supposed to clean up a failed bank in the cheapest way possible, but regulators agreed that the situation posed a risk to the financial system, which allowed them to invoke an exception to that rule. The regulator will tap the Deposit Insurance Fund, which comes from fees paid by the banking industry, to ensure it can pay back depositors.

The agencies said that “any losses to the Deposit Insurance Fund to support uninsured depositors will be recovered by a special assessment on banks, as required by law.”

Monday’s Market Meltdown

Not surprisingly, the stock markets around the world opened sharply lower on Monday. The previous day, Goldman Sachs said that any Fed rate hikes were off the table for March 22 (I disagree). Bank stocks and energy stocks were hardest hit in virtually all markets. On the other hand, bonds surged, taking interest rates down sharply.

When banks collapse, others sometimes fear their banks and investments will follow. Even healthy banks don’t keep enough cash to pay out all depositors. So, if too many people panic at once and pull out their money — a classic bank run — it could lead to broader financial and economic calamity. And that is what the Biden administration and the Federal Reserve are trying to stop: a financial crisis prompted mainly by plunging confidence.

Canada’s Banks Are In Much Better Shape

Although most Canadian bank stocks plunged on Monday, the regulatory environment is far tighter than in the US. Moreover, Canadian banks are dominated by the Big Six rather than the thousands of banks in the US. They have nationwide branch networks with a large diversified base of clients with less exposure to technology, fewer deposit runoff issues and higher ratios of loans to deposits.

There is much less hot money coming into the Canadian banks than the small and midsize regional lenders in the US that focus on a specific niche part of the loan and deposit markets. Canadian banks are also much better capitalized.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland met with Canada’s superintendent of federal financial institutions, Peter Routledge, one day after his office announced it had seized control of SVB Financial Group’s branch in Canada.

SVB’s Canadian arm is unusual because it has a license to lend but cannot take deposits. While some Canadian startups had deposited with the bank’s U.S. arm, the Canadian operation held no client money.

SVB is a small lender in Canada. The tech financer had US$692 million in assets and US$349 million in outstanding loans in Canada as of December, according to OSFI filings. CIBC had $2.9 billion in loans through its innovation banking arm as of October 31, 2021. A bank looking to bolster its lending to startups could scoop up SVB’s loan book at a steep discount.

Yields in Canada fell sharply, following the Treasury market’s lead. Investors reversed course and bet the Bank of Canada will start cutting rates soon.

OSFI has already taken action to monitor daily the liquidity of Canadian banks in the wake of the SVB failure.

Bottom Line

Goldman Sachs was virtually alone when it said it expects the central bank to pass up the chance to hike interest rates next week. Markets still expect the Fed to keep up its inflation-fighting efforts, despite high-profile bank failures that have rattled the financial system. Traders on Monday assigned an 85% probability of a 0.25 percentage point interest rate increase when the Federal Open Market Committee meets March 21-22.

Surging bond yields played into the demise of SVB in particular as the bank faced some $16 billion in unrealized losses from held-to-maturity Treasurys that had lost principal value due to higher rates.

Is this enough to qualify as the kind of break that would have the Fed pivot? The market overall doesn’t think so.

For a brief period last week, markets were expecting a 0.50-point move following remarks from Fed Chair Jay Powell indicating the central bank was concerned about recent hot inflation data (see chart below).

Bank of America and Citigroup said they expect the Fed to make the quarter-point move, likely followed by a few more. Moreover, even though Goldman said it figures the Fed will skip a hike in March, it still is looking for quarter-point increases in May, June and July.

Next week’s meeting is a big one in that the FOMC will not only decide on rates but also update its projections for the future, including its outlook for GDP, unemployment and inflation.

The Fed will get its final look at inflation metrics this week when the Labor Department releases its February consumer price index on Tuesday and the producer price counterpart on Wednesday. A New York Fed survey released Monday showed that one-year inflation expectations plummeted during the month.

(This article is courtesy of the Sherry Cooper Assoc.)


Angela Calla is an 19-year award-winning woman of influence which sets her apart from the rest. Alongside her team, Angela passionately assists mortgage holders in acquiring the best possible mortgage. Through her presence on “The Mortgage Show” and through her best-selling book “The Mortgage Code, Angela educates prospective home buyers by providing vital information on mortgages. In light of this, her success awarded her with the 2020Business Leader of the Year Award.

Angela is a frequent go-to source for media and publishers across the country. For media interviews, speaking inquiries, or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at hello@countoncalla.ca or at 604-802-3983.

Click here to view the latest news on our blog. 

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How did 2022 change Canadian homebuying trends?

General Angela Calla 13 Mar

Homebuying among Canadians is a vastly different affair – and more often than not, a family one – from what it was two to three years ago, new data reveals, with half of Canadian buyers admitting that financial support from their families played a critical role in their home-purchasing process.

From 2020 to 2021, extreme demand and a low supply of homes for sale pushed the country’s housing activities and home prices to record highs. This trend started to reverse in 2022, a year defined by elevated borrowing costs and what national real estate marketplace Zolo called “a long overdue shift from a seller’s market to a more balanced market”.

For its 2023 Canada housing market report, Zolo surveyed 800 Canadians to ask them how, when, where, and why they bought a home in 2022.

The Zolo report revealed that in the current landscape of high mortgage rates, financial assistance from family members were the new normal. Forty-seven percent (47%) of homebuyers admitted they received money from family – either as a gift or through an inheritance – to help pay for their downpayment. One in four (24%) used the money of their partner’s family to bridge the same expense.

The results also showed that Canadians dedicated a lot of time and thought into home-buying. Almost half (47%) of all homebuyers spent one to two years browsing real estate listings – then proceeded to start to “house hunt in earnest”.

More than half (55%) prepared a budget, but most made the critical mistake of overlooking their mortgage rate, with only 25% of homebuyers shopping around for a mortgage.

“Not shopping around for a mortgage is the costliest mistake anybody can possibly make,” said mortgage expert and author Angela Calla in the Zolo report. Calla suggested approaching a mortgage broker for the job. “Doing it on your own hurts your credit, limits your options, and doesn’t point out the very important costs that can come down the road.”

More than one in three Canadians (37%) browsed listings online when house hunting but preferred to narrow down their choices in person. The Zolo report said that virtual viewings and long-distance purchases were rare in 2022, with most (67%) preferring to view their homes in person between two to four times before making an offer.

Websites and social media emerged as the top places to preliminary browse listings when home-buying. While in Canada, more than half of all boomers (59%), Gen X (52%), and millennials (58%) still preferred to browse real estate listing websites for the task, close to half of Gen Z Canadian homebuyers (49%) browsed Instagram to house hunt.

The emerging homebuying attitude among Canadian youth was also a more decisive one, the Zolo report found.

Most millennials and Gen Z homebuyers only viewed between one to three homes before finally settling on one, in contrast with Gen X and boomer homebuyers, who viewed between four to six homes on average.

(This article is courtesy of the CMP)


Angela Calla is an 19-year award-winning woman of influence which sets her apart from the rest. Alongside her team, Angela passionately assists mortgage holders in acquiring the best possible mortgage. Through her presence on “The Mortgage Show” and through her best-selling book “The Mortgage Code, Angela educates prospective home buyers by providing vital information on mortgages. In light of this, her success awarded her with the 2020Business Leader of the Year Award.

Angela is a frequent go-to source for media and publishers across the country. For media interviews, speaking inquiries, or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at hello@countoncalla.ca or at 604-802-3983.

Click here to view the latest news on our blog. 

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Bank of Canada Pauses Rate Hikes As US Fed Promises Further Tightening

General Angela Calla 8 Mar

THE BANK OF CANADA HOLDS RATES STEADY EVEN AS THE FED PROMISES TO PUSH HIGHER

As expected, the central bank held the overnight rate at 4.5%, ending, for now, the eight consecutive rate increases over the past year. The Bank is also continuing its policy of quantitative tightening. This is the first pause among major central banks.

Economic growth ground to a halt in the fourth quarter of 2022, lower than the Bank projected. “With consumption, government spending and net exports all increasing, the weaker-than-expected GDP was largely because of a sizeable slowdown in inventory investment.” The surge in interest rates has markedly slowed housing activity. “Restrictive monetary policy continues to weigh on household spending, and business investment has weakened alongside slowing domestic and foreign demand.”

In contrast, the labour market remains very tight. “Employment growth has been surprisingly strong, the unemployment rate remains near historic lows, and job vacancies are elevated.” Wages continue to grow at 4%-to-5%, while productivity has declined.

“Inflation eased to 5.9% in January, reflecting lower price increases for energy, durable goods and some services. Price increases for food and shelter remain high, causing continued hardship for Canadians.” With weak economic growth for the next few quarters, the Bank of Canada expects pressure in product and labour markets to ease. The central bank believes this should moderate wage growth and increase competitive pressures, making it more difficult for businesses to pass on higher costs to consumers.

In sum, the statement suggests the Bank of Canada sees the economy evolving as expected in its January forecasts. “Overall, the latest data remains in line with the Bank’s expectation that CPI inflation will come down to around 3% in the middle of this year,” policymakers said.

However, year-over-year measures of core inflation ticked down to about 5%, and 3-month measures are around 3½%. Both will need to come down further, as will short-term inflation expectations, to return inflation to the 2% target.

Today’s press release says, “Governing Council will continue to assess economic developments and the impact of past interest rate increases and is prepared to increase the policy rate further if needed to return inflation to the 2% target. The Bank remains resolute in its commitment to restoring price stability for Canadians.”

Most economists believe the Bank of Canada will hold the overnight rate at 4.5% for the remainder of this year and begin cutting interest rates in 2024. A few even think that rate cuts will begin late this year. 

In Congressional testimony yesterday and today, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that the Fed might need to hike interest rates to higher levels and leave them there longer than the market expects. Today’s news of the Bank of Canada pause triggered a further dip in the Canadian dollar (see charts below). 

Fed officials next meet on March 21-22, when they will update quarterly economic forecasts. In December, they saw rates peaking around 5.1% this year. Investors upped their bets that the Fed could raise interest rates by 50 basis points when it gathers later this month instead of continuing the quarter-point pace from the previous meeting. They also saw the Fed taking rates higher, projecting that the Fed’s policy benchmark will peak at around 5.6% this year. 

Bottom Line

The widening divergence between the Bank of Canada and the Fed will trigger further declines in the Canadian dollar. This, in and of itself, raises the Canadian prices of commodities and imports from the US. This ups the ante for the Bank of Canada.

The Bank is scheduled to make its next announcement on the policy rate on April 12, just days before OSFI announces its next move to tighten mortgage-related regulations on federally supervised financial institutions.

To be sure, the Canadian economy is more interest-rate sensitive than the US.  Nevertheless, as Powell said, “Inflation is coming down, but it’s very high. Some part of the high inflation that we are experiencing is very likely related to a very tight labour market.”

If that is true for the US, it is likely true for Canada. I do not expect any rate cuts in Canada this year, and the jury is still out on whether the peak policy rate this cycle will be 4.5%.

(This article is courtesy of the Sherry Cooper Assoc.)


Angela Calla is an 19-year award-winning woman of influence which sets her apart from the rest. Alongside her team, Angela passionately assists mortgage holders in acquiring the best possible mortgage. Through her presence on “The Mortgage Show” and through her best-selling book “The Mortgage Code, Angela educates prospective home buyers by providing vital information on mortgages. In light of this, her success awarded her with the 2020Business Leader of the Year Award.

Angela is a frequent go-to source for media and publishers across the country. For media interviews, speaking inquiries, or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at hello@countoncalla.ca or at 604-802-3983.

Click here to view the latest news on our blog. 

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2023 Canada Housing Market Report: A Comprehensive Look at the Year’s Trends

General Angela Calla 8 Mar

For the first time since the pandemic’s start, Canadians are experiencing a shift in the real estate market they’ve come to know. There were record-setting sales across the country in 2020 and 2021, with extreme demand from buyers and a low supply of homes for sale. In turn, we saw Canada’s housing market and home prices across the country reach unprecedented highs.

Deciding to buy a home is a big deal, and there are a lot of unknowns to tackle. For instance, when they purchase a property, who do they hire? How many homes do they view before putting in an offer? What was the non-negotiable feature they needed in their home?

After all, we all want to know whether we’re doing the same things as everyone else — or if we’re missing a key step or bit of information to help us make a better decision regarding the biggest purchase of our lives. So we asked 800 Canadians how, when, where and why they bought their homes in 2022, and we’re sharing all of the juicy details. 

The trend in Canada’s housing market throughout 2022 can be boiled down to increased borrowing costs and a long overdue shift from a seller’s market to a more balanced market. And we’ll talk more about the 2022 market later in this piece. But, knowing this, how did buyers make decisions and buy homes — and what does this mean for you?

Key Findings

  • 55% of Canadians create a budget before they buy a home
  • 50% of Canadians save their down payment in their TFSA
  • 47% of Canadians receive money from family and/or an inheritance to boost their down payment
  • Only 36% of home buyers hire a home inspector
  • 49% of Gen Z browses for properties on Instagram
  • 80% of Canadians negotiate their home price

Canadians Could Use a Bit More Prep in Their Home Buying Step

Canadians homeowner budget

Typically, preparation is one of the first steps to buying a home. When you plan to buy a home, you usually require a deep understanding of your financial situation and a team of experts to help you throughout your home-buying journey. Let’s look at how most Canadians prepare to buy homes financially and otherwise.

Majority of Canadians Create a Budget Before They Buy a Home

One of the first steps you need to take to know how much home you can afford is to look at your income, spending habits and debt load. For one thing, this helps a home buyer grasp the reality of the cost of homeownership, but having this information at your fingertips will make it easier to qualify for home financing when the time comes.

Thankfully, 55% of Canadians create a budget before they buy a home. However, there is room for improvement when it comes to everything related to money and homeownership. For example, only 25% of Canadians shopped around for their mortgage rate. Getting multiple quotes on a mortgage rate is one of the key ways to ensure you get the best deal, which directly translates to how much you’ll spend each month repaying your loan. Our advice? Don’t sleep on a good comparison shop. 

Mortgage expert and author Angela Calla agrees. “Not shopping around for a mortgage is the costliest mistake anybody can possibly make,” She says that every lender has their own bias to sell a product. An independent mortgage broker uses one application to protect the applicants’ credit. Mortgage brokers aren’t directly employed by lenders, which allows them to shop your application to banks, credit unions and trust companies that consumers couldn’t access on their own. “Doing it on your own hurts your credit, limits your options, and doesn’t point out the very important costs that can come down the road,” says Calla.

You can also secure mortgage pre-approval, which only 36% of Canadians do. Pre-approval makes you look like a more serious buyer, gives you a clear sense of what you can afford, and can make buying much quicker.  

Canada housing market steps

Spilling the Tea on Down Payments

The minimum down payment requirement on a home in Canada is 5% — but a 2021 report from the Canadian Real Association (CREA) found that most people go higher than this in many provinces. For example, they looked at average down payments in British Columbia (22.5%), Ontario (20.35%), Quebec (15%), Alberta (15.15%) and Nova Scotia (14.26%), and none were below 10% down. As for where we save, the most popular place for a down payment is in a tax-free savings account (TFSA), where 50% of Canadians put their funds. 

We know where Canadians save, but where do they get the money? For most, buying a home is a family affair. Regarding down payments, 47% of Canadians receive money from family and/or an inheritance to boost their percentage. An additional 24% of people use their partner’s family’s money for the same.  

Although most Canadians get their down payment fund from their savings, a surprising number of Canadians use borrowed money to buy homes, such as through a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) or inheritance. In an ideal world, regardless of where your down payment comes from, you need to be sure that the home you’re buying is affordable with or without those extra funds — and lenders will want to ensure the same.

Angela Calla - mortgage broker

While you can borrow to contribute to your down payment, you may qualify for less mortgage, according to Calla. “While today’s qualifications are income times three, for example, $100,000 per year qualifies you for a $300,000 mortgage, adding any outside debts to that usually reduces that ability,” says Calla. Instead, she says you are better off using family financial planning and getting a gift from your parents as a part of an early inheritance. 

“This is why the reverse mortgage is so popular for parents looking at how to help their kids get into the market without impacting their cash flow or causing a taxable event by taking out investments.”

(This post is courtesy of Zolo, where you can read the full article)


Angela Calla is an 19-year award-winning woman of influence which sets her apart from the rest. Alongside her team, Angela passionately assists mortgage holders in acquiring the best possible mortgage. Through her presence on “The Mortgage Show” and through her best-selling book “The Mortgage Code, Angela educates prospective home buyers by providing vital information on mortgages. In light of this, her success awarded her with the 2020Business Leader of the Year Award.

Angela is a frequent go-to source for media and publishers across the country. For media interviews, speaking inquiries, or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at hello@countoncalla.ca or at 604-802-3983.

Click here to view the latest news on our blog. 

trigger rate

Bank of Canada Announcement – March 8, 2023

General Angela Calla 8 Mar

With this new announcement, the Bank of Canada has decided not to increase prime interest rates. We expect this pause to continue in the attempt to curb the high inflation rates and further moves will be data-dependent.

Prime rate still remains at 6.70% for most banks, with some fixed-rate mortgages having come down off of the peak and well below the prime rate, fixed rates are allowing for more qualifications and improved cash flow. This stabilization presents an opportunity to get ahead in your mortgage planning strategy.

Recently, we were invited on the Steele and Vance Show and in a segment discussed what those who are looking to get into the market or are up for renewal should keep in mind. Here is a link to the short clip 2-minute clip.

As always, our team is available to answer your questions directly at angela@countoncalla.ca

The Angela Calla Mortgage Team.


Angela Calla is an 18-year award-winning woman of influence which sets her apart from the rest. Alongside her team, Angela passionately assists mortgage holders in acquiring the best possible mortgage. Through her presence on “The Mortgage Show” and through her best-selling book “The Mortgage Code, Angela educates prospective home buyers by providing vital information on mortgages. In light of this, her success awarded her with the 2020Business Leader of the Year Award.

Angela is a frequent go-to source for media and publishers across the country. For media interviews, speaking inquiries, or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at hello@countoncalla.ca or at 604-802-3983.

Click here to view the latest news on our blog. 

Bank of Canada

Economic Insights from Dr. Sherry Cooper

General Angela Calla 7 Mar

The Bank of Canada was the first major central bank to hit the pause button on rate hikes in late January. Given the slowdown in inflation in the recently released January CPI, The Bank of Canada will refrain from hiking interest rates this month. 

That is welcome news for homeowners with adjustable-rate mortgages whose rate has risen 425 basis points in less than a year.

Variable-rate mortgage holders with a fixed payment have largely hit their trigger points if they bought in the past couple of years. While their monthly payments have not risen, many are not covering the higher interest costs on their mortgages. Hence their principal outstanding is rising. Little is known about how the lenders will handle that when it comes time to renew.

Housing starts also plunged 13% month over month in January.

Bank earnings are under pressure with higher taxes and capital requirements, and the federal financial institution regulator is looking to tighten mortgage terms somehow. More will be known in mid-April when the comment period is over.

Other sectors of the economy remain relatively robust. Labour markets continue to be very tight as the unemployment rate is near record lows, and job vacancies—though down a bit—remain high. This has boosted consumer spending despite inflation.

We expect a soft landing in the Canadian economy this year—a mild contraction in Canada in 2023 Q2-Q3. This is one quarter later than the Bank of Canada projected in their most recent Monetary Policy Report.

The economy is resilient, and inflation is falling, but the central bank is unlikely to cut rates this year. When rates begin to fall in 2024, they will remain well above the pre-pandemic level of a mere 1.75% for the overnight policy rate. Inflation in the decade before the pandemic averaged less than 2%. Over the next decade, inflation is likely to be higher, especially as on-shoring and the reduction in globalization will be much less disinflationary.

(This article is courtesy of the DLC March Newsletter)


Angela Calla is an 18-year award-winning woman of influence which sets her apart from the rest. Alongside her team, Angela passionately assists mortgage holders in acquiring the best possible mortgage. Through her presence on “The Mortgage Show” and through her best-selling book “The Mortgage Code, Angela educates prospective home buyers by providing vital information on mortgages. In light of this, her success awarded her with the 2020Business Leader of the Year Award.

Angela is a frequent go-to source for media and publishers across the country. For media interviews, speaking inquiries, or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at hello@countoncalla.ca or at 604-802-3983.

Click here to view the latest news on our blog. 

trigger rate