When the Bank of Canada decided last week to keep its benchmark interest rates stable at 1.75%, it signalled the weakening economy makes it unlikely a rate increase is anywhere on the horizon. “Inflation is not where it should be, we’re not in a deflation mode right now, but inflation is under control and there’s…
As its municipal government raised property tax rates in their latest budget, the City of Montreal is set to receive a larger than expected windfall of property revenue in the coming years. How? Property value assessments. Later this year, homeowners across the island will receive a new property value assessment that will be the baseline…
Read analysis from North East Mortgages president Terry Kilakos on mortgage rule changes that went into effect in October 2018 (OSFI dropped the hammer on the mortgage market), as well as commentary from December 2018 (Treat Canadians like the responsible homeowners they are). Residential mortgage growth has dipped to a 17-year low the Bank of…
We are at the dawn of a new market in real estate. What we once knew to be true has been changed by the government and is threatening the stability of our mortgage and real estate market. The changes that are scheduled to take effect in January of 2018 will not only impact the mortgage…
OSFI dropped the hammer on the mortgage market this week. The changes to its mortgage underwriting standards were revealed and they are looking to further tighten the Canadian lending standards. This is the final revision of Guideline B-20 -Residential Mortgage Underwriting Practices and Procedures. The new rules will be taking effect on January 1st, 2018 and are applicable…
Canadians brace for more changes to the mortgage market. The dust has not settled yet on the last changes put in place to the Canadian mortgage market and the government has already indicated that further changes might be in order. In June of 2017, the Bank of Canada put out its semi-annual Financial Systems Review. The review…
Is the Mortgage market collapsing in Canada? This is the question on everyone’s mind this week. If you have been following our blogs you will know that in Early October of 2016 I ran a blog called The Day After . In that blog post, I looked at the major implications that would be caused by…
CMHC raises premiums again. Effective March 17th The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation will be significantly raising rates. The media and CMHC can sugar coat it all they want. The increase will hit Canadians and Monoline lenders hard. The new rates will see premiums jump to unprecedented values. that will have a long-lasting impact on the average…
This morning, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) released its December national real estate statistics showing home sales rose 2.2% month-over-month in the final month of last year. This rebound retraced less than half of the decline in November, when it posted the largest monthly decline in more than four years in response to…
The Bank of Canada today announced that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 1/2 percent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 3/4 percent and the deposit rate is 1/4 percent. Economic data suggest that global economic conditions have strengthened, as the Bank anticipated in its October Monetary Policy Report (MPR). However, uncertainty,…