Weathering a Turbulent Market In spite of predictions to the contrary, COVID-19 did not bring the mortgage sector to a screeching halt. Throughout 2021, despite new virus variants and a roller coaster of lockdowns, the volume of mortgage deals kept brokers working overtime to keep up with the demand. This year is shaping up to […]

Our team wanted to give you a big hello and hope you had a wonderful week. In case you missed it, we wanted to take a moment to share an article from Zolo, discussing the emerging housing trends in 2023 so far. Some key findings from this report include that: 55% of Canadians create a […]

According to the Canadian Real Estate Association, the Spring market is anticipating a drop in home prices edging down approximately 6% from 2022, putting the average home price at $662,103 in 2023. The downward trend stems from rising interest rates and continued uncertainty in the marketplace. In some cases, sellers have taken their homes off […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]