CategoryMortgage Trends

Posted January 21, 20151 Comment Bank News

Interest rate surprise? Not to our readers! : Bank of Canada drops key lending rate to 0.75%

Last week, I made a bold statement about interest rates. I said rates will remain low for some time. And they could even decline.

That forecast was met with a certain degree of criticism. Well, no surprise for CanadaMortgageNews.ca followers, the Bank of Canada cut the rate by 0.25% to 0.75%.

This means Variable Mortgage rates will fall by 0.25%. It also means we’ll probably see fixed rate mortgages also fall….. As I predicted.

Stay tuned for more details on this…

http://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/business/key-interest-rate-unexpectedly-lowered-1.2198493

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@mortgagenow.ca

Posted January 16, 2015 Interest rates

So, you think rates are gonna spike up this year? Who says?

Here we go again… The beginning of a new year, and the same annual forecasts for interest rates to go up! Before I share my thoughts.. Here’s some of the recent headlines that I’ve seen….

a report by CBC News sharing 4 ways to prepare.. including selling your home, waiting to buy and locking into a Fixed rate mortgage! (Can you say panic?)
Here’s another from The Globe and Mail telling us it’s “Bad News for Borrowers: The economy could improve this year”. Really? Tell that to the people in Alberta, Newfoundland and Saskatchewan.
And this one from last week says Get ready for Interest Rate Shock in 2015.

Wow, reading this means rates are certain to up this year…right? So let’s see.. we should sell our home, put off buying (yet again) and lock in our Variable rates into Fixed rate mortgages..

Now let’s look at the most recent headlines.. Continue reading “So, you think rates are gonna spike up this year? Who says?”

Posted December 31, 2014 Debt

Looking ahead to 2015 rates and trends

Seasons Greetings! Happy New Year! Quick thank you for making 2014 a great year! Hope yours was just as special. And I’m wishing you much success and happiness in 2015.

I’ll make this quick as I’m sure you have some New Year’s Eve celebrations to attend to.

QUICK YEAR IN REVIEW.

Interest rates haven’t really changed this year.
5 yr fixed rates are under 3.00%.
Variable rate pricing improved to around Prime less 0.60% (less in some cases and dropping).
In fact, looking at the big picture, interest rates haven’t really changed much in the last 4 yrs. Yet, you wouldn’t know it by reading the newspaper headlines….(sorry to my media friends…)

Let’s get to it. MY THOUGHTS ON 2015. Continue reading “Looking ahead to 2015 rates and trends”

Posted October 28, 20148 Comments Consumer Debt

When this guy can’t qualify for a mortgage, you know the mortgage rules are too tight!

FORMER US FED CHAIRMAN CAN’T GET A MORTGAGE.

Anyone remember this guy? Ben Bernanke. He’s just the former Chairman of the US Federal Reserve Bank. He served two terms from 2006 to 2014. Earlier this month, he revealed that he was declined for a mortgage refinance. Now, just to put this in perspective, he used to make a nice 6 figure salary. And today, he is paid an estimated $250,000 per speaking engagement.

How can he not qualify? Clearly, the mortgage rules tightening process has gone waaaaaay overboard. But this isn’t just happening in the US. Canada’s mortgage lending rules have always been tighter than the US. And over the past 6 years, the Canadian govt has brought in numerous changes to tighten the rules even further. (Actually, experts agree that they went way overboard. And we are only now seeing the effects of the rule changes.. Look out. You’re in for a big surprise the next time you need mortgage money).

CANADIAN MORTGAGE RULES ARE EVEN TIGHTER!!

Canada’s Banking industry has been the envy of the world. We came out of the 2008 US sub-prime mortgage crisis with no visible scars. Continue reading “When this guy can’t qualify for a mortgage, you know the mortgage rules are too tight!”

Posted October 8, 20142 Comments Bank News

Senior Deputy Governor says lower rates are the new normal.

In her first public speech as Senior Deputy Governor for the Bank of Canada, Carolyn Wilkins brought some good news to Canadians with mortgages. Interest rates should remain low for some time….. and we can expect lower rates to be the “new normal”.

Ms. Wilkins went on to say that “the recovery has had repeated false starts and still faces considerable headwinds.” This seems to be the new message coming from the Bank of Canada. And I must say, it’s a refreshing change from the previous high-profile Governor, Mark Carney.

UNPOPULAR COMMENTS

Remember our previous Bank of Canada governor? Mr. Carney earned high praise for helping Canada avoid any U.S. style recession. But in the years leading up to his 2013 departure, his repeated warnings of pending interest rate hikes never materialized. In fact, we now know they were way off. Interest rates went down and have stayed down. Looking back, Carney’s rate hike warnings sounded more like ‘the boy who cried wolf’. Continue reading “Senior Deputy Governor says lower rates are the new normal.”