Owning a home remains the largest single investment for most Canadians so it’s not surprising that the fear of an economy turned upside down hits home for many.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) recently warned the pandemic, and resulting lockdown of the economy could drive Canada’s average home prices down by 9-18%. As job loss and uncertainty forced many Canadians to the sidelines, the federal housing agency expects the housing sector will not return to pre-pandemic levels until the end of 2022.

Most of the concern centers on oil-producing regions hit hard by the crash in crude prices. Housing analysts also point out vulnerability in big cities such as the booming Vancouver and Toronto condo markets.

That’s potential bad news for speculators or those who just bought a home in a vulnerable region and want to sell in the next three years. For most long-term homeowners who can maintain a sufficient source of income, the best and safest investment remains the roof over their head.

According to the CMHC, average Canadian house values have increased by over five percent annually over 25-year periods going back to the Second World War. That includes the 2008 global financial meltdown when predictions for a housing market collapse never materialized.

Many homeowners have already benefited from the pre-pandemic housing boom, and for new homeowners, any decline over the next three years can easily be absorbed once the market gets back on track.

For potential homeowners, the next three years could finally open an affordable window to the residential real estate market.

While a home should never be the only investment in a retirement portfolio, it’s unique from other investments in terms of risk. Other equity investments have intrinsic values, but they can be difficult to measure consistently in relation to their price. Bitcoin, for example, has no intrinsic value because it is backed by nothing. The only value in bitcoin is a belief by investors that it has the intrinsic value of its trading price.

Real estate is the only investment you can actually live in. It’s an asset you can rest your head in it at the end of the day no matter what value the market places on it. In addition to the potential for it to go up in value over time, a home pays a sort of dividend equal to the cost of rent, and upon sale, it’s the ONLY investment where you pay no tax on the gains!

Homeownership also allows average investors to build equity by borrowing at a low-interest rate in the form of a mortgage by using the property as collateral. Over time, that equity can be used to borrow to fund lifestyle, build a portfolio or investment or properties, or fund a business or help a loved one financially.

Perhaps the biggest and hardest measure of the intrinsic value of a home to quantify comes from its newfound role as a sanctuary during a global pandemic. The value of a home in a time when social distancing could become the norm for years to come is immeasurable. Being cooped up with the people closest to your heart can be frustrating at times but can offer rewards well beyond its market value.

Although the economy has been turned upside down there will always be an economy as long as there is a demand for something. Investment trends may come and go but the desire to own a home will always drive demand.

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.

There has been a lot of discussion around mortgage insurance qualifications as of late. We can rest assured knowing private default insurer Genworth Canada saw no need to follow CMHC and tighten its mortgage rules. Canada Guaranty, which has the lowest loss ratio in the mortgage insurance industry, made the same determination, saying, “Given the implementation of the qualifying stress test and historic default patterns, Canada Guaranty does not anticipate borrower debt-service ratios at the time of origination to be a significant predictor of mortgage defaults.”

CMHC is not banning all borrowed down payments. It will still allow down payment funds that originate from:

• A loan from one’s own RRSP (using the Home Buyers Plan).
• A HELOC on another property that the borrower owns.
• A HELOC on a property their parents own (if the parents gift those funds to the borrower).
• Note: CMHC will no longer allow down payment funds from unsecured borrowing. That includes from a HELOC on a property the borrower’s parents own — if the parents loan those funds to the borrower.
• CMHC adds that “eligible traditional sources of down payment may include: savings, the sale of a property, non-repayable financial gift from a relative, funds borrowed against their liquid financial assets, funds borrowed against their real property, or a government grant.”

It’s Now Official: Our neighbour to the south is now in recession.

Double the Deferrals: Canada’ has nearly twice as many people deferring mortgage payments than the U.S.

Rate cuts: There have been a lot of decreases (and misreporting on this). We help secure these for those who qualify.

Record Home Prices: It’s almost like GTA home prices are taking their cues from the stock market. If HouseSigma’s estimate is right and the trend continues, GTA home values could potentially set a record in June.

Fully Reversed: Rates on reverse mortgages sprang up in April, but now every single reverse mortgage rate in Canada is below 5% — for the first time ever.

Brokers Kill It: Despite all the headwinds from online competitors, banks, a slowing economy, and mortgage regulations (or perhaps because of mortgage regulations), Canada’s two leading mortgage broker firms are cleaning up. Dominion Lending Group posted a vigorous 30% growth rate and $8.4 billion of closed mortgages in the first quarter. Meanwhile, Rival M3 Mortgage Group told the Spy it closed 32% more deals and $9.3 billion in Q1. M3’s EVP Dino Di Pancrazio said:

“Our brokers are less reliant of walk-in traffic and most are used to doing business at a distance.” They’re also used to “advising customers in many different financial situations and I think that this became increasingly valuable as some people saw their salaries cut or lost their jobs.”

Even in the face of unprecedented change, there are positive factors to consider. We will get through this and recover stronger than before.

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.

In addition to yesterday’s announcement from Genworth Financial, Canada Guaranty confirmed that there will be no changes to their underwriting policy that we’ve seen contemplated as a result of recent industry announcements.

“Canada Guaranty utilizes a dynamic underwriting process where our underwriting policies are consistently updated to reflect evolving economic environments and emerging mortgage default patterns. This philosophy has resulted in the lowest loss ratio in the industry. Recent insurer announcements relating to down payment and minimum credit score represent a very small component of Canada Guaranty’s business, and we will continue to be prudent in these areas. Given the implementation of the qualifying stress test and historic default patterns, Canada Guaranty does not anticipate borrower debt service ratios at the time of origination to be a significant predictor of mortgage defaults.”

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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.

Do you or a loved one live with a disability?

I love learning how families can learn what options are out there to help them. While I’m not a financial planner, I am grateful to know the best ones. If you want to see how this can help you or a loved one, email us at callateam@dominionlending.ca and I can introduce you. ❤️

This Webinar replay talks about the Disability Tax Credit and the Registered Disability Saving Plan. It has some very specific details that pertain to Diabetes but overall information would be useful for all.

Angela Calla is a 16-year award-winning woman of influence mortgage expert. Alongside her team, passionately assisting mortgage holders get the best mortgage, and educating them on The Mortgage Show on CKNW for over a decade and through her best-selling book The Mortgage Code available on Amazon. To purchase the book click here: The Mortgage Code. Proceeds from all sales will be donated to Access Youth Outreach Services. Angela can be reached at callateam@dominionlending.ca or 604-802-3983.

Genworth MI Canada Inc. (the “Company“) (TSX: MIC) confirms that it has no plans to change its underwriting policy related to debt service ratio limits, minimum credit score and down payment requirements. One of the Company’s competitors announced changes to their internal underwriting guidelines with respect to the aforementioned underwriting criteria on June 4, 2020.

“Genworth Canada believes that its risk management framework, its dynamic underwriting policies and processes and its ongoing monitoring of conditions and market developments allow it to prudently adjudicate and manage its mortgage insurance exposure, including its exposure to this segment of borrowers with lower credit scores or higher debt service ratios,” said Stuart Levings, President and CEO.

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Angela Calla is a 16-year award-winning woman of influence mortgage expert. Alongside her team, passionately assisting mortgage holders get the best mortgage, and educating them on The Mortgage Show on CKNW for over a decade and through her best-selling book The Mortgage Code available on Amazon. To purchase the book click here: The Mortgage Code. Proceeds from all sales will be donated to Access Youth Outreach Services. Angela can be reached at callateam@dominionlending.ca or 604-802-3983.

I wanted to touch base to update you on what to expect with the new CMHC updates. Learn more about the update here and listen to Angela’s segment with Jill Bennett here.

Who does this impact? People making a home purchase with less than a 20% down payment.

There haven’t been enough details released at this time to rush to conclusions. We will keep you updated as things go along. Remember to follow our Facebook or Instagram pages for updates!

Things to note:

• This does not come into place until July 1^st and only with CMHC purchases less than 20% down.
• These updates are a CMHC initiative under the national housing act, NOT a the Ministry of Finance.
• The other insurers have a meting next week with government and they would prefer to keep things the way they are. They don’t feel the losses that CMHC mentioned are consistent with there portfilios.
• They said our default rate is still below a half of a percent and even in the crisis of 2008 people still paid their mortgages.
• CMHC has a very different portfolio than the other insurers.
• With the deferral program ALL insurers were brought to the table. This update is ONLY CMHC and it was done under the National Housing Act NOT directed by the Ministry of Finance

Some other changes are relative to your credit score – one borrower has to have a score of 680 (average Canadian score is 650) – and you will not be able to use a borrowed downpayment.

We protect credit scores and help improve them by using only one application to shop all lenders. Most lenders already have these credit score minimums in place.

Most lenders already implementing the non-borrowed down payment policy and most who would take that route don’t have the income to qualify to do so anyway.

IF this is something the other insurers are forced to follow it will reduce buying power for those who need it most by 10% on average for those purchasing with less than 20% down.

We will be here to help you through all these changes when the time comes. We are available anytime at callateam@dominionlending.ca to help guide you.

Angela Calla is a 16-year award-winning woman of influence mortgage expert. Alongside her team, passionately assisting mortgage holders get the best mortgage, and educating them on The Mortgage Show on CKNW for over a decade and through her best-selling book The Mortgage Code available on Amazon. To purchase the book click here: The Mortgage Code. Proceeds from all sales will be donated to Access Youth Outreach Services. Angela can be reached at callateam@dominionlending.ca or 604-802-3983.

The CMHC just released its new underwriting criteria effective July 1st for those purchasing with less than 20% down.

• The minimum credit score will increase to 680 from the previous 600
• Borrowing ratios of income percentage will tighten up a bit
• They will not allow borrowed down payments ie. Lines of Credit, credit cards
• Maximum gross debt service (GDS) ratio drops from to 35
• Maximum total debt service (TDS) ratio drops from 42

This release is a CMHC ONLY initiative! There are still two other insurers in Canada who do not see the same risks.

Further to this, the Bank of Canada feels very strongly about our economy, recently announcing interest rates will continue to stay low.

Learn more about this announcement here.

Angela Calla is a 16-year award-winning woman of influence mortgage expert. Alongside her team, passionately assisting mortgage holders get the best mortgage, and educating them on The Mortgage Show on CKNW for over a decade and through her best-selling book The Mortgage Code available on Amazon. To purchase the book click here: The Mortgage Code. Proceeds from all sales will be donated to Access Youth Outreach Services. Angela can be reached at callateam@dominionlending.ca or 604-802-3983.

As an independent mortgage professional, I grow more and more grateful for the opportunity to help our clients get the best mortgage (without bias and while protecting their credit score) when I hear unfortunate stories like Kristina’s. Read it here.

When Kristina Barybina’s income quickly dried up due to this pandemic she knew there’d be a penalty for getting out of the mortgage early – she just wasn’t expecting it to be almost $30,000.

7 out of 10 Canadians will break their mortgage prior to renewal – I can give you a long list of reason’s why, however, let’s try to keep this brief. People often say, “It doesn’t matter, I’m not going to need to sell” or “I am never going to have to break my mortgage”.

The lenders noted in this article are fantastic lenders, ones that we use when its warranted to do so and in the best interest of the client. Some Canadians can qualify for a better mortgage that does not have posted rates and results in a MUCH lower exit penalty. Those who have a higher penalty may not have been able to qualify for a mortgage with these lenders.

Hopefully, if you are reading this, you will want to verify which lenders you can qualify for to protect yourself and those you love by consulting with us.

Today is evidence that NOBODY can predict the future so IF you can qualify for a better mortgage through a monoline lender ONLY accessible by an INDEPENDENT mortgage professional, why would you sign on to pay more?

We go over this and the why behind everything mortgage in my book The Mortgage Code.

Angela Calla is a 16-year award-winning woman of influence mortgage expert. Alongside her team, passionately assisting mortgage holders get the best mortgage, and educating them on The Mortgage Show on CKNW for over a decade and through her best-selling book The Mortgage Code available on Amazon. To purchase the book click here: The Mortgage Code. Proceeds from all sales will be donated to Access Youth Outreach Services. Angela can be reached at callateam@dominionlending.ca or 604-802-3983.

If you missed the Financial Literacy session with Enriched Academy’s Kevin Cochran you’re in luck! Here’s the entire 75-minute session!!

I recommend that every KID, TEEN, and YOUNG ADULT watch this! Make it your entertainment during dinner or when relaxing before bed. Every parent should watch this tonight with your children!

This session will change your children’s perspective on money by helping them simplify its importance to better understand it.

An unbeatable investment of time! Feel free to share.

Angela Calla is a 16-year award-winning woman of influence mortgage expert. Alongside her team, passionately assisting mortgage holders get the best mortgage, and educating them on The Mortgage Show on CKNW for over a decade and through her best-selling book The Mortgage Code available on Amazon. To purchase the book click here: The Mortgage Code. Proceeds from all sales will be donated to Access Youth Outreach Services. Angela can be reached at callateam@dominionlending.ca or 604-802-3983.

I joined Mike Smyth on his show this morning to bring some clarity to the recent CMHC discussion around increasing the minimum required down payment on home purchases under $500,000.

It is CMHC’s job to evaluate everything from every aspect – how many people have deferred their mortgages and defaulted and what that will look like when they go back to work. Of course, if we put more money down we’ll have more of a cushion but in speaking to other insurers they have been silent on the matter.

I believe 5% is here to stay. The default rate is still well below .5% across the country. Generally when we see mortgage insurers come out with something they’re going to come out with it in unison as we saw with the Mortgage Deferral.

Listen to the show here.

Angela Calla is a 16-year award-winning woman of influence mortgage expert. Alongside her team, passionately assisting mortgage holders get the best mortgage, and educating them on The Mortgage Show on CKNW for over a decade and through her best-selling book The Mortgage Code available on Amazon. To purchase the book click here: The Mortgage Code. Proceeds from all sales will be donated to Access Youth Outreach Services. Angela can be reached at callateam@dominionlending.ca or 604-802-3983.