CategoryMortgage Rates

Ask the mortgage expert: How to buy a home in 2026, between budgets, builders, and opportunities

Every year, homebuyers across Canada hold out for the silver bullet—a policy change that will suddenly make the path to homeownership clearer.

From tax reforms to supply-side stimulus, the landscape is changing. The question is: Are these changes enough to bridge the gap between supply and demand, and how can you leverage them to your advantage?

While there is rarely a single “fix” for a market as complex as ours, the most recent budget cycles and policy updates have introduced significant shifts that every homebuyer needs to understand. 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 1 month ago Bank News

Stop Bleeding Cash: Why Your Mortgage is the Ultimate Financial Power Tool

Let’s have an honest conversation about the financial squeeze many Canadians are feeling right now.

Prices are up at the pump, at the grocery store, and certainly in utility bills. But for many homeowners, the real pressure isn’t just inflation; it’s the “silent killer” of accumulated consumer debt sitting on top of their mortgage.

I see it every day in my practice. Good people, with good incomes, who have managed to build significant equity in their homes, yet they are drowning in monthly payments because they are financing their lives using the wrong tools. They are using 19.99% credit cards and 11% lines of credit for expenses that should be financed at 4-5%.

It makes absolutely no financial sense.

Posted November 4, 2025 Bank News

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 October 6, 20254 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.