Tagmortgage refinances

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 September 20, 2024 Bank News

10 up and 3 down, unintended consequences!

LOTS OF MOVEMENT IN MORTGAGE RATES

Sounds like a football play. But I’m not talking about football even though the NFL season just started and my Buffalo Bills won their first two games. I’m referring to how many times the Bank of Canada’s (BoC) Governor, Tiff Macklem, has changed the Overnight rate since March 2022.

Did you know we saw 10 rate hikes totaling 4.75% in just 16 months from March 2022 to July 2023? That’s never happened before. And most of those rate hikes

Posted August 14, 20231 Comment Debt

How To Navigate Three Common Mortgage Scenarios

It’s a confusing time to be a homeowner. Rates are up, and everyone has an opinion on what will happen next. It’s easy to get sucked into social media rabbit holes and make decisions motivated by fear. But at times like these, it’s crucial to block out the noise and do what’s right for you.

To that end, here are three common scenarios along with my recommendations on how to save money and hang onto some peace of mind.

Posted July 3, 20201 Comment Mortgage News

Navigate through these uncharted waters in 2020

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In 2009 and 2010, for the first time ever we saw mortgage rates under 2.00%. That’s right, if you were in a variable rate mortgage, you had a rate under 2.00%. We were coming off the catastrophic US sub-prime mortgage crisis. The financial US scam that cost the world trillions of dollars in lost pensions and investments. Tens of thousands of people lost everything they had. It was horrible. While we, in Canada, were largely untouched. We weren’t smarter, we were just lucky not to be exposed to the subprime mortgages to the extent the rest of the world was. As they say, Canada is five years behind the US, and in this case, we got lucky.

That said, let’s get back to mortgage rates and fast forward to 2020.

Q and A | Jenelle Cameron of Remax Hallmark In Conversation with Steve Garganis of Mortgage Architects

Posted April 3, 2020 Mortgage News

Q & A | Jenelle Cameron of Remax Hallmark In Conversation with Steve Garganis of Mortgage Architects

Q&A | Jenelle Cameron In Conversation with Steve Garganis of Mortgage Architects

I participated in a Q & A with one of my good realtor friends, Jenelle Cameron of Remax. We had a chance to discuss the current impact of COVID-19 on mortgages and the real estate market in general. Find out the latest on mortgages, what’s happening with closings during this time, and more!