CategoryReal Estate Trends

Posted October 1, 2024 Bank News

The Great Mortgage Reset

A FOUR PART SPECIAL EDITION… PART 3 of 4

Canada’s mortgage lending rules and policies are broken. They just don’t work. And the more our Federal government tries to help, the worse it gets. This is a 4 part series of what our government can do to make home ownership affordable.

KNOWING THE PAST WILL HELP OUR FUTURE.

I’m going to list some of the changes that have handicapped Canadians from buying and renting. There are over 30 changes over the last 18 years but I’m just going to list the ones that have had the greatest impact. Notice the pattern of ever tightening government lending rules that increase a homeowner’s

Posted September 18, 2024 Bank News

New $1.5 million price cap, 30 year extended amortization.. Is it enough?

The Federal Government announced they would be extending the current amortization on insured mortgages (those buying with less than 20% down) to 30 years. ONLY if you are a First-time buyer or you are buying a newly built home. I applaud this move but I would have liked for these 2 limitations to have been excluded.

I would go further and say we should extend it to 35 or 40 years, maybe even 50 years!

Posted July 25, 20241 Comment Bank News

Bank of Canada Rate Cut July 2024: Impact on Mortgages and Economy

The Bank of Canada just cut the overnight rate by another 0.25%. For the second consecutive month, they’ve lowered the rate. In total, a 0.50% drop in two months. (not enough, but it’s a start) Great news for anyone in a Variable rate mortgage. It means you will be paying 0.50% less on your mortgage. We can expect further cuts this year and next. Read on for more details.

Posted June 25, 2024 Bank News

Why fixed rates haven’t dropped that much yet

Everything is playing out as expected. Fixed rates have begun to fall, slowly. But this isn’t unusual or unexpected. If you’ve followed interest rate hikes and cuts, you’ll see a familiar pattern.

Posted November 29, 2023 Finance

The Case For Short Term Rentals

A couple weeks ago, the federal government announced they’re cracking down on short term rentals. Property owners will no longer be able to claim their rental expenses against the income they make, thereby making it far less lucrative to rent out properties on sites like Airbnb or VRBO.

I think this is a huge mistake. People argue that short term rentals limit the availability of inventory for long term renters, but I believe this view misses the big picture for a few reasons.