Good Morning, As suspected rates have held steady this morning, meaning no change to variable rate mortgages or lines of credit with the current payments. Lenders appear to be minimizing the discount avaliable on variable rate mortgages which has been one of the most benifical options to help borrowers over the last decade pay there mortgages […]

Mortgage rules to push housing lower: CMHC   Housing starts and sales will fall more into line with “demographic fundamentals” this year and next, according to the latest housing outlook from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation. The crown agency said it expects housing starts will range between 166,600 to 192,200 units in 2011, with […]

  This week on an abbreviated Big Picture podcast (co-host John Shmuel is off in parts unknown): If you’ve been in the market looking for a home the past few years, you’ve likely griped about how seemingly far out of whack prices have become. This is especially true if you happen to live — or […]

The Bank of Canada released a special issue of its Review, “Lessons from the Financial Crisis,” which examines the recent research on the role of liquidity in the financial system, and the public policy responses that aimed to restore stability to the financial system during the crisis and foster economic recovery.   The Globe and Mail’s […]

No matter how many stories I read about housing price bubbles and rising interest rates, there’s no way I would go back to renting, and most Canadians feel the same way.    For three long, miserable years, my husband and I rented a unit attached to our landlord’s sprawling house in northeastern Toronto. Every time […]

Home prices continue climb Garry Marr Financial Post  May 17, 2011 – Canadian home prices continued their upward march in April, driven by strong investor demand in Vancouver, as cracks in the Toronto condominium market may be starting to appear. The Canadian Real Estate Association said yesterday the average price of a home sold in April […]

A variety of factors can keep you from qualifying for a mortgage.    The big ones include a low credit score, insufficient income for the size of the loan you want, insufficient down payment and excessive debt. All of these factors are within your control, however.   Click here to read the Globe and Mail’s […]

First-time homebuyers have accounted for about one in every two homes sold in Canada in the past two years – with more than a quarter of a million sales per year across the country – says a new report.   A housing report by the Altus Group, an economic consulting firm, says the majority of […]

Julian Beltrame, The Canadian Press OTTAWA – Stephen Harper has kept one economic lynch pin, promoted two others, and brought in an untried new face — but his Conservative government’s message and policies remain the same. The top economic minister, Jim Flaherty at Finance, was brought back to cabinet Wednesday in order to re-introduce the […]

There has already been “some softening” in the Canadian real-estate market so there is no need for further tightening of mortgage rules, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Tuesday. In his first public comments since the election, Flaherty said the country continues to weather the ongoing upheaval in the global economy. He said his first priority […]