CategoryMortgage Products

Ask the mortgage expert: how Canada’s self-employed can unlock homeownership

For too long, Canada’s self-employed have faced a maddening paradox. The very financial strategies that prove your business savvy—like maximizing deductions to lower your taxable income—often become the biggest roadblocks to securing a mortgage.

As a mortgage broker, I see this scenario play out every week. I meet brilliant entrepreneurs, skilled contractors, and creative freelancers who have thriving businesses and excellent cash flow. Yet, they get turned away by traditional lenders fixated on a single line on a tax return. The story is always the same: “My business is having its best year ever, but the bank says I don’t make enough money.”

If this sounds familiar, take heart. The landscape has changed. Lenders and mortgage insurers now recognize the unique financial reality of the self-employed. A new generation of intelligent mortgage products has arrived, designed to look beyond your declared income and see the true financial strength of your business. The T4 slip is no longer the only golden ticket to homeownership. Continue Reading…

I hope you will enjoy this article and if you have any questions or would like to discuss I am always available.

Your best interest is my only interest. I reply to all questions and I welcome your comments. Like this article? Share with a friend.

Steve Garganis: 416-224-0114; steve@canadamortgagenews.

Posted 2 months ago4 Comments Mortgage News

The Condo Carnage Is Real.. but is it over?

Let’s call this what it is: a day of reckoning. The great Canadian condo delusion, a mass psychosis fueled by cheap money and a fear of missing out, is over. The speculative fever has broken, leaving a trail of financial devastation in its wake. For years, an entire generation was told that buying a condo—any condo, at any price—was the only path to prosperity. They were wrong. Dead wrong. And now, the carnage from that spectacular miscalculation is creating the single greatest buying opportunity we’ve seen in decades.

The numbers don’t just tell a story; they scream it from the rooftops. In the Greater Toronto Area, sales volumes haven’t just dipped; they’ve cratered, falling a gut-wrenching 60% from the peak. In the first quarter of this year, a paltry 1,800 new condo units were sold across the entire GTHA. Let that sink in. We haven’t seen a number that terrifyingly low since 1995. This isn’t a slowdown; it’s a full-blown market seizure, a cardiac arrest of consumer confidence.

Posted August 5, 2025 Bank News

Refinance today before you can’t tomorrow

Alright, let’s talk mortgages. Because right now, for a lot of Canadians, that word “mortgage” isn’t exactly synonymous with “sweet dreams and financial freedom.” No, for far too many, it’s becoming a four-letter word that brings with it a whole lot of anxiety.

I’ve been in this business a long time, seen a lot of market cycles. But what we’re witnessing today is something else entirely. The sheer volume of people hitting their mortgage renewal dates with rates dramatically higher than what they signed up for just a few years back? It’s unprecedented. The “payment shock” isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a gut punch for a massive percentage of Canadian households.

Think back to 2020, 2021. Interest rates were practically giving money away. We saw fixed rates dipping below 2%, variable rates even lower. People bought homes, stretched their budgets, maybe even consolidated a little bit of debt with that sweet low-rate mortgage. Life was good, financially speaking.

Posted April 10, 20251 Comment Bank News

A Financial Crisis Or Is It?

2025 will go down in history as one of those years filled with volatility and turmoil. There’s a quote from a book I read that seems appropriate today. “People want certainty versus accuracy.” I hope to give you certainty by sharing my 36 year experience in financial services and having lived through 5 financial crises and living through a 6th crisis today.

I’m going to take a risk and speak very bluntly. This may anger or upset some of you. I apologize, I have to say some things. I have to point out the obvious.

FIRST THE BAD NEWS…

I’m a math guy. Work with numbers every day. The stats don’t lie. Our economy, GDP, cost of living, housing costs, have all gone into the toilet. You don’t need to look very far to believe this. Many of you have contacted me about job losses, or potential job losses. Those secure in their jobs call me because they have increased their debt levels and this can be for many reasons. The point is, many are having a hard time paying their debts.

Posted March 11, 2025 Bank News

Ask the Expert: Steve Garganis – With the capital gains tax hike on its way out, is this your chance to buy an investment property?

With the capital gains tax increase looking less and less likely, how should Canadians be thinking about investment properties? Is now the time to buy?

Earlier this year, the federal government announced that it will be deferring the effective date for the proposed capital gains inclusion rate increase to 66.67% from 50% to January 1, 2026.

The proposal to increase to the capital gains tax was first introduced last April applicable to gains above $250,000. (For gains below $250,000, the same 50% capital gains tax would apply.) However, the government didn’t have the opportunity to table the legislation before parliament was prorogued.

However, this capital gains tax increase would have left some people in a tough position.

Some that entered into new construction agreements in 2022 were the most vulnerable, as they would have purchased when real estate values were inflated during the lower COVID-era mortgage rates. (However, this may not be the case for all, as property values in general, are down across Canada compared with 2022, with condos taking the biggest hit in Toronto and Vancouver.)

Family cottage owners and long-time property owners with larger capital gains would also be affected. Read More – Interview with Steve Garganis

I hope you will enjoy this article and if you have any questions or would like to discuss I am always available.

Your best interest is my only interest. I reply to all questions and I welcome your comments. Like this article? Share with a friend.

Steve Garganis: 416-224-0114; steve@canadamortgagenews.