A wonderful 38-second clip from our Governor of the Bank of Canada about interest rates, consumer indebtedness, and the availability of credit. A stark contrast to CMHC’s sound bytes.

"Interest rates are very low, and they’re going to be there for a long time": BoC Governor Tiff Macklem pic.twitter.com/1BFh2owsQs

— BNN Bloomberg (@BNNBloomberg) July 15, 2020

Angela Calla is a 16-year award-winning woman of influence and mortgage expert. Alongside her team, Angela passionately assists mortgage holders in acquiring the best possible mortgage. She educates and empowers individuals on the “The Mortgage Show”, which she’s hosted for over a decade and is the best selling author of The Mortgage Code available on Amazon. All proceeds from her book sales are donated to Access Youth Outreach services, a local charity in our community supporting our youth.

Angela leads by example with passion and conviction. She is known as an industry expert on TV and radio and the go-to source for publishers across the Country. On top of all her achievements, Angela finds the time to be a loving wife and mother of two beautiful children.

For media interviews, speaking inquiries, or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at callateam@dominionlending.ca or 604-939-8777.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau presented his fiscal snapshot this afternoon. Most economists were expecting a budget deficit of roughly $260 billion. Instead, the government announced a deficit for the fiscal year 2020-21 of $343.2 billion–close to 16% of GDP. That compares to the $34.4 billion deficit projected before the pandemic.

A big chunk of that additional deficit can be attributed to the $212 billion in direct support measures the federal government is providing to individuals and businesses. The deficit was initially estimated at C$256.2 billion by the Parliamentary Budget Officer, the country’s budget watchdog. The discrepancy reflects lower tax revenue, an eight-week extension of CERB and the wage subsidy increase.

Aside from the pandemic program spending, the economic slowdown is estimated to have added another $81.3 billion to the deficit in 2020-21, driving spending levels to their highest since 1945. The recession has also taken a toll on revenue, which will drop as a share of the economy to the lowest since 1929.

The prime minister argued the economy would be in much worse shape were it not for the government’s response, in part to thwart the need for households to take on more debt. “We made a very specific and deliberate choice throughout this pandemic to help Canadians, to recognize that overnight people had lost their jobs,” Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa. “We decided to take on that debt to prevent Canadians from having to do it.”

To be sure, the government can finance the debt at a much lower cost than households. Long-term interest rates for the government of Canada are at record lows–below the rate of inflation. The ten-year GOC yield is 0.56% and the 30-year bond yield is just a tad over 1.0%. In consequence, the interest cost to the government of the rising debt burden is very modest.

In addition, the vast majority of the temporary surge in Ottawa’s new debt is being absorbed by the Bank of Canada in its bond purchases. While the BoC’s holdings of federal government debt as a share of its total securities holdings has risen abruptly from less than 14% at the start of the year to around 27% now, that’s still below the share of domestic government debt held by central banks in Japan, Germany and Sweden, for example. Canada’s overall public sector net debt remains moderate among major economies, and especially when compared to the U.S., Britain, or the Euro Area.

Read more here.

Angela Calla is a 16-year award-winning woman of influence and mortgage expert. Alongside her team, Angela passionately assists mortgage holders in acquiring the best possible mortgage. She educates and empowers individuals on the “The Mortgage Show”, which she’s hosted for over a decade and is the best selling author of The Mortgage Code available on Amazon. All proceeds from her book sales are donated to Access Youth Outreach services, a local charity in our community supporting our youth.

Angela leads by example with passion and conviction. She is known as an industry expert on TV and radio and the go-to source for publishers across the Country. On top of all her achievements, Angela finds the time to be a loving wife and mother of two beautiful children.

For media interviews, speaking inquiries, or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at callateam@dominionlending.ca or 604-939-8777.

Angla Calla teamed up with the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver to help you navigate the market during changing times.

Learn how we can help you access your equity and how a reverse mortgage might be the perfect solution for you so you don’t have to sacrifice your lifestyle. She also discusses the recent CMHC updates and what they mean for you.

Angela Calla is a 16-year award-winning woman of influence and mortgage expert. Alongside her team, Angela passionately assists mortgage holders in acquiring the best possible mortgage. She educates and empowers individuals on the “The Mortgage Show”, which she’s hosted for over a decade and is the best selling author of The Mortgage Code available on Amazon. All proceeds from her book sales are donated to Access Youth Outreach services, a local charity in our community supporting our youth.

Angela leads by example with passion and conviction. She is known as an industry expert on TV and radio and the go-to source for publishers across the Country. On top of all her achievements, Angela finds the time to be a loving wife and mother of two beautiful children.

For media interviews, speaking inquiries, or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at callateam@dominionlending.ca or 604-939-8777.

The Bank of Canada released its Summer Business Outlook Survey (BOS)* this morning, covering an interview period from mid-May to early June. In all provinces and all sectors, the sentiment was hugely negative owing to the impact of the pandemic and falling oil prices.

Since the previous survey, conducted before concerns about COVID-19 has intensified, but as oil prices had already started to fall, business confidence plunged. Surprisingly, however, the business sentiment was not as negative as during the 2007-09 global financial crisis (see Chart 1 below). This was mainly due to the government support offered to cushion the blow of the pandemic. Also, many firms expect a reasonably quick rebound in operations after a temporary decline in sales, unlike the 2007–09 crisis when businesses anticipated persistent weakness in demand.

Highlights of the BOS:

• Forward-looking sales indicators have collapsed. Many businesses referred to elevated uncertainty. Still, roughly half of firms anticipate that their sales will recover to pre-pandemic levels within the next year.
• Businesses in most regions and sectors intend to cut their investment spending significantly. Hiring plans are muted, although a quarter of firms plan to refill some positions after recent layoffs.
• Reports of capacity pressures and labour shortages have fallen significantly. This suggests a substantial widening in economic slack.
• Expectations for input and output price growth, as well as for overall inflation, are all down considerably.
• Credit conditions have tightened significantly, but government measures are a helpful offset.

Read more here.

Angela Calla is a 16-year award-winning woman of influence and mortgage expert. Alongside her team, Angela passionately assists mortgage holders in acquiring the best possible mortgage. She educates and empowers individuals on the “The Mortgage Show”, which she’s hosted for over a decade and is the best selling author of The Mortgage Code available on Amazon. All proceeds from her book sales are donated to Access Youth Outreach services, a local charity in our community supporting our youth.

Angela leads by example with passion and conviction. She is known as an industry expert on TV and radio and the go-to source for publishers across the Country. On top of all her achievements, Angela finds the time to be a loving wife and mother of two beautiful children.

For media interviews, speaking inquiries, or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at callateam@dominionlending.ca or 604-939-8777.

We had the pleasure of hosting a presentation on Understanding Reverse Mortgages this morning for the Safe Care Home Support community!

A Reverse Mortgage can offer a solution to help you access your equity tax-free and without running any government benefits. Learn all about Reverse Mortgages in an article we wrote here.

Learn how a Reverse Mortgage might just be the solution you’re looking for by watching this webinar below.

Angela Calla is a 16-year award-winning woman of influence and mortgage expert. Alongside her team, Angela passionately assists mortgage holders in acquiring the best possible mortgage. She educates and empowers individuals on the “The Mortgage Show”, which she’s hosted for over a decade and is the best selling author of The Mortgage Code available on Amazon. All proceeds from her book sales are donated to Access Youth Outreach services, a local charity in our community supporting our youth.

Angela leads by example with passion and conviction. She is known as an industry expert on TV and radio and the go-to source for publishers across the Country. On top of all her achievements, Angela finds the time to be a loving wife and mother of two beautiful children.

For media interviews, speaking inquiries, or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at callateam@dominionlending.ca or 604-939-8777.

FIRST FORMAL REMARKS BY TIFF MACKLEM, BANK OF CANADA GOVERNOR

There were no surprises this morning from Governor Macklem’s virtual presentation to the Canadian Clubs of Canada. His opening written statement was quite brief and it was followed up with a Q and A. Here are the key points that he emphasized.

• Negative interest rates are off the table as they “lead to distortions in the behaviour of financial markets.”
• Therefore, no additional Bank of Canada rate cuts are coming.
• The BoC will continue its securities purchase program to provide liquidity to financial markets.
• In response to questions, he said he expects lasting damage to demand and supply in the economy. He said the recovery will be “long and bumpy” and “slow and gradual”.
• The inflation target of 2% will remain the beacon for BoC policy. Currently, inflation is below target.
• “This recession is a deep one. Women have been particularly hard hit because they work disproportionately in the hard-hit service sector and women are disproportionately caring for children and the elderly”.
• Fiscal support programs lay the foundation for the recovery of particular groups.
• Oil-producing regions are hard hit by the oil price shock. The price of oil has moved up recently to WTI $40, but the pandemic clearly “weakens oil demand”.
• Household debt levels are a concern. Fiscal transfers help and households have reduced their spending. The role of the BoC is to provide the required stimulus to encourage households to spend. The macroprudential measures already in place will discourage highly indebted households from taking on more debt.
• He expects “pretty good growth in jobs and GDP in Q3”. Beyond that is more uncertain as we will need to repair the economy.
• All institutions must speed up actions to deal with climate change, including the BoC. We will need to get a handle on the implications of this for the economy.
• Chartered banks are more conservative in their lending practices since the pandemic hit. The securities-purchase programs are intended to keep credit flowing from the banks. The banks are an important shock absorber during this recession. Conditions in financial markets are much improved since the beginning of the crisis. “Markets have normalized and credit is flowing more freely”.
• Both the government and the BoC have introduced extraordinary programs to deal with this crisis. He said, however, that we could use “additional international assistance and cooperation”.
• Real estate question–How much risk does this sector represent? The Governor commented that different sectors will behave differently Warehouse and fulfillment centre demand is quite strong. Commercial real estate outlook is uncertain– particularly office space and shopping malls. Housing–he commented that “sharp drops in housing activity” has led to “little change in prices” thus far. This will vary by region and type of housing in the future.  
• “The pace of change is accelerating. Societies around the world are having trouble keeping up. The central bank must get ahead of this” and be prepared for the unknowns, be agile and resolute.
• Asked about the potential for a second wave of a pandemic, he said, “The outlook is fraught with uncertainty. The biggest uncertainty is the course of the virus. There will be increases in the number of cases. We need testing and tracing with quick responses locally. We need to determine how to open up safely.”
• When asked for his last word, he said, “We are going to get through this. Canadians are resourceful, business ingenuity is strong, this will be a long slow recovery and there will be setbacks. We have avoided the worst scenario. Not all jobs will come back. The Bank is laser-focused on supporting this recovery and getting Canadians back to work”.

Learn More

Angela Calla is a 16-year award-winning woman of influence and mortgage expert. Alongside her team, Angela passionately assists mortgage holders in acquiring the best possible mortgage. She educates and empowers individuals on the “The Mortgage Show”, which she’s hosted for over a decade and is the best selling author of The Mortgage Code available on Amazon. All proceeds from her book sales are donated to Access Youth Outreach services, a local charity in our community supporting our youth.

Angela leads by example with passion and conviction. She is known as an industry expert on TV and radio and the go-to source for publishers across the Country. On top of all her achievements, Angela finds the time to be a loving wife and mother of two beautiful children.

For media interviews, speaking inquiries, or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at callateam@dominionlending.ca or 604-939-8777.

Angla Calla teamed up with the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver to help you navigate the market during changing times.

Learn how COVID-19 has changed the mortgage landscape, changes to the stress test, and the best mortgage advice for homebuyers.

PART I

PART II 

Angela Calla is a 16-year award-winning woman of influence and mortgage expert. Alongside her team, Angela passionately assists mortgage holders in acquiring the best possible mortgage. She educates and empowers individuals on the “The Mortgage Show”, which she’s hosted for over a decade and is the best selling author of The Mortgage Code available on Amazon. All proceeds from her book sales are donated to Access Youth Outreach services, a local charity in our community supporting our youth.

Angela leads by example with passion and conviction. She is known as an industry expert on TV and radio and the go-to source for publishers across the Country. On top of all her achievements, Angela finds the time to be a loving wife and mother of two beautiful children.

For media interviews, speaking inquiries, or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at callateam@dominionlending.ca or 604-939-8777.

Getting pre-approved can be a vital step to the home-buying process! But don’t confuse this with pre-qualification; you can get a pre-qualification through the My Mortgage Toolbox app to determine what you might qualify for. Pre-approval, on the other hand, means that a lender has stated (in writing) that you do qualify for a mortgage and what amount, based on your current income and credit history. A pre-approval usually specifies a term, interest rate, and mortgage amount and is typically valid for a brief period of time, assuming various conditions are met.

In order to get pre-approved, you must submit and verify your financial history. I can walk you through this process and assist in finding you the best mortgage to suit your needs. Not only will getting pre-approved help speed up the process when you do find that perfect home, but it also helps determine the most accurate budget to fit your needs and the actual home price you can afford.

In fact, pre-approval can help you to determine three very important things:

• The maximum amount you can afford to spend
• The monthly mortgage payment associated with your purchase price range
• The mortgage rate for your first term

Not only does getting pre-approved make the search easier for you, but helps your real estate agent find the best home in your price range. Temptation will always be to start looking at the very top of your budget, but it is important to remember that there will be fees, such as mandatory closing costs, which can range from 1 to 4% of the purchase price. Factoring these into your maximum budget can help you narrow down a home that is entirely affordable and ensure future financial stability and security.

While getting pre-approved doesn’t commit you to a single lender, it does guarantee the rate offered to you will be locked in from 90 to 120 days which helps if interest rates rise while you are still shopping. If interest rates actually decrease, you would still be offered the lower rate.

Another benefit to pre-approval is that, when it comes time to purchase, pre-approval lets the seller know that securing financing should not be an issue. This is extremely important for competitive markets where lots of offers may be coming in.

Protecting Your Pre-Approval

Once you have gone to the trouble of getting pre-approved and determining the boundaries of your budget and mortgage payments, you will want to make sure that you take action to protect the rate you have been offered.

To protect your pre-approval, there are a few things to keep in mind:

• Refrain from having additional credit reports pulled once you have been pre-approved
• Refrain from applying for new credit, closing off credit accounts or making large purchases until after the sale is complete
• Be prepared to show a paper-trail – any unusual deposits in your bank account may require an explanation. Also, if your down payment comes from savings, the bank will want 90 days of statements to ensure the funds are accounted for.

Angela Calla is a 16-year award-winning woman of influence and mortgage expert. Alongside her team, Angela passionately assists mortgage holders in acquiring the best possible mortgage. She educates and empowers individuals on the “The Mortgage Show”, which she’s hosted for over a decade and is the best selling author of The Mortgage Code available on Amazon. All proceeds from her book sales are donated to Access Youth Outreach services, a local charity in our community supporting our youth.

Angela leads by example with passion and conviction. She is known as an industry expert on TV and radio and the go-to source for publishers across the Country. On top of all her achievements, Angela finds the time to be a loving wife and mother of two beautiful children.

For media interviews, speaking inquiries, or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at callateam@dominionlending.ca or 604-939-8777.

As exciting as it is to start your journey towards home ownership (or even up- and down-sizing), there are a few things you should consider first.

Most importantly, you need to determine your purchase range. Having the proper budget for your future home is the best way to ensure future financial success! To create a proper budget, you need to look at your monthly income and expenses to determine how much you can afford in monthly mortgage payments. Download my Mortgage Toolbx app directly above this article and create a profile today to access all of the amazing features, including mortgage estimates and budgeting tools. From there, you can determine your purchase price! Ideally, it is best to try and find a home that fits your needs that is below your maximum budget, which will give you a lower mortgage payment and a little more financial freedom and security for the future.

Beyond determining what you can afford, you need to identify your housing needs. It is important to know that, unless you build it yourself, no home will have everything you are looking for. However, you can find a home with most of the things you want and all of what you need if you are able to be a little bit flexible and realistic about your deal breakers. You should have a list of your must-have items that you cannot do without, such as needing a second bathroom or a third bedroom for a growing family. Your list of must-have items, or needs, should be things you cannot change; flooring and paint color should never be on this list.

Once you have your list of needs and your budget, you can connect with me and begin the pre-approval process (more information on that below). I can also help to connect you with a real estate agent to begin your search.
Remember, whether it is your first or fourth house, home-hunting can be a process. Be prepared to revisit your list and homes several times to find the right fit. It is out there! As long as you stay within your budget, you will not only build equity in your new home but you will have a solid financial foundation to continue growing from.

Angela Calla is a 16-year award-winning woman of influence and mortgage expert. Alongside her team, Angela passionately assists mortgage holders in acquiring the best possible mortgage. She educates and empowers individuals on the “The Mortgage Show”, which she’s hosted for over a decade and is the best selling author of The Mortgage Code available on Amazon. All proceeds from her book sales are donated to Access Youth Outreach services, a local charity in our community supporting our youth.

Angela leads by example with passion and conviction. She is known as an industry expert on TV and radio and the go-to source for publishers across the Country. On top of all her achievements, Angela finds the time to be a loving wife and mother of two beautiful children.

For media interviews, speaking inquiries, or personal mortgage assistance, please contact Angela at callateam@dominionlending.ca or 604-939-8777.