The premium on fixed mortgage is very small For most of the past year, Canadians have leaned very heavily to variable-rate mortgages. Earlier this year, five-year variable mortgages were being offered at rates as low as prime minus 0.95 per cent (2.05 per cent at current prime rates). With the latest financial worries, lenders have […]

New federal mortgage rules: – Reduce the maximum amortization period to 30 years from 35 years for new government-backed insured mortgages with loan-to-value ratios of more than 80 per cent, effective March 18. – Lowers the maximum amount Canadians can borrow in refinancing their mortgages to 85% per cent from 90 per cent of the […]

CALGARY – The percentage of Canadians using mortgage brokers to buy their homes has increased significantly, according to a report released today. The Deloitte report, Winning Strategies in the Brokered Mortgage Marketplace, said that in the 1990s mortgage brokers numbered in the hundreds and were a last resort for borrowers unable to obtain a mortgage […]

Money is on sale! This month, a client locked in a five-year mortgage at 3.49%.    They could have done the same in 2001, but it would have been about 7%. In 1982 it would have been 18%. Even in the low-rate days of 1952, it would have been about 5.5%.    Borrowing costs are […]

Andy Holloway, Financial Post · Friday, Jun. 11, 2010 While about 80% of Canadians visit a doctor at least once a year to help ensure they remain physically healthy, the number of people who check their financial health by regularly reviewing their mortgage is far less. Plenty can change in someone’s life in a year, […]

‘You know, you’re making the biggest mistake of your life. The housing market is going to fall.” I got this great piece of advice from another journalist at the Financial Post, who has since left the newspaper, after buying my first home. Not exactly the type of thing you want to hear after taking on […]

Managing debt while rates grow Terry McBride , For Canwest News Service  SASKATOON — Canadians have taken advantage of extremely low interest rates to overextend themselves. The Bank of Canada wants to try to prevent inflation by raising interest rates to slow the economy down. How will debtors manage? Inflation vs. deflation Actually, debtors generally […]

When the Bank of Canada raised its Bank Rate by 25 basis points to .75 per cent last Tuesday, there were already a few grumblings from Canadians in the housing sector and elsewhere who thought interest rates should remain at an effective rate of almost zero for time immemorial so they could continue to borrow […]

CALGARY – Calgary is the best place in Canada to invest in the residential real estate market, according to a new report released today. The Real Estate Investment Network’s report said that Calgary experienced one of its best economic and real estate periods in Canadian history a couple of years ago but then entered a […]

Credit Score Secrets by Gail Vaz-Oxlade, for Yahoo! Canada Finance Thursday, May 27, 2010 Ever wonder how that magical number – The Credit Score – is computed?  Whether you’re obsessing over your FICO score or your Beacon score, you’re likely shopping for credit. The FICO score was developed by Fair Isaac & Co., which began […]