The Canadian Press - Published Monday, May. 14, 2012
For most Canadians their home is the biggest investment they'll ever make — but they might be surprised to learn you can use if for more than just sleeping.
People generally don't think of their homes as a potential pile of cash in the bank, but experts say it's something worth pondering now that home prices in Canada may have hit their peak.
Banks talk down consumer debt hysteria
Garry Marr May 9, 2012
The Bank of Canada may be thinking about raising interest rates but there’s apparently no need to because Canadians are hunkering down to cool debt obligations on their own.
“The pace of growth in household credit is no longer a reason for the Bank of Canada to move from the sidelines any time soon,” says Benjamin Tal, deputy chief economist at CIBC World Markets.
Why smaller down payments can lead to better mortgage rates
It doesn’t make much sense, but a skimpy down payment on a home might actually get you a better mortgage rate in today’s market.
Blame the government subsidy known as mortgage default insurance, which ultimately makes it less risky to lend money to someone who has only 5% down compared to someone with 20%.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
1. Mortgage Fraud: How to protect yourself when buying or refinancing a home
2. Low mortgage rates are attracting young buyers
3. Safety tips for outdoor improvement projects
More reforms needed at CMHC
Ottawa should get out of the mortgage insurance business - National post - April 25 2012
The 2012 federal budget announced steps to protect taxpayers from exposure to risks in the residential mortgage market: enhancing the governance and oversight framework for CMHC, and introducing a legislative framework for covered bonds.
Bank of Canada takes aim at home equity lines of credit
The Bank of Canada sounded the alarm on growing household debt on Wednesday, taking aim in particular at the growing tendency of Canadians to take out lines of credit using home equity. While the Bank has repeatedly warned on household debt levels in the past, on Wednesday it provided more detail about the type of debt Canadians are taking on, including its concerns about the rapid growth of so-called HELOC’s (home equity lines of credit).
Once again: Pay down your debts before rates rise
Globe and Mail -ROB CARRICK-Published Tuesday, Apr. 17, 2012
The decade’s most ignorable piece of financial advice: Pay down your debts before interest rates rise. You’ve heard this warning a hundred times, you ignored it and rates held steady at historic lows. Now, the Bank of Canada is signalling that borrowing costs could rise if economic conditions keeps improving.
Here are 10 reasons not to tune out this time around:
Canadians confused over real estate market
By Liam Lahey - Despite highly-competitive interest rates, Canadians are backing away from the real estate market. And it's no wonder. Consumers are bombarded with contradictory economic reports about the fragility of the housing market in the U.S., the blistering-hot Canadian real estate bubble -- is it even a bubble? -- and varying interest rates that seem to change on a dime according to the whims of the big-six Canadian banks.
Flaherty calls on banks to ‘fix’ mortgage market- Reuters Apr 4, 2012
Canada’s finance minister said on Wednesday he would rather not tighten mortgage rules again to curb high household debt and that banks themselves are taking on that job by becoming more strict with their lending criteria. Jim Flaherty said he has seen signs of moderation in the Toronto condominium market and expects to see a similar trend in Vancouver, one of the country’s hottest real estate markets.
Inside This Issue:
1. Genworth Canada Homeownership Week Guide: Government help for the first-time homebuyer
2. Next Generation of Energy Efficiency Initiatives
3. Are you renovation Ready?
Genworth using internal resources to deal with foreclosures
FINANCIAL SERVICES REPORTER— From Thursday's Globe and Mail - Tara Perkins
Genworth MI Canada Inc. (MIC-T21.700.010.05%), the country’s largest private sector mortgage insurer, has set up its own internal group of real estate agents to deal with foreclosure sales
How Canadians can boost home value through renovation
By Gail Johnson
With the popularity of home-decorating shows like Trading Places soaring, suddenly everyone's an interior designer. But from a real expert's point of view, where are home-owners' renovation dollars best spent?
"Kitchens and bathrooms are the best place to start," says Toronto's Howie Track, owner of Traxel Construction, which specializes in high-end residential and commercial renovation and construction.
Breaking your mortgage: ‘It’s either worth it or it’s not’
Mary Teresa Bitti - Mar 14, 2012 – 3:39 PM ET |Last Updated: Mar 14, 2012 4:48 PM ET
Fixed-rate mortgages are at historic lows but if you are locked in to a contract with your bank, those benefits may be yet elusive.
First you have to do the math to see if breaking your contract is worth the penalties you may face.
March 08 2012
Flaherty, economists optimistic, but warn of overheated housing market
OTTAWA • The federal government and some of the country’s leading economists remain worried about Canada’s housing market and rising household debt, and are cautioning Canadians against borrowing too much.
However, they are more optimistic about the overall state of the Canadian economy than they were just last fall, and now project stronger-than-expected economic growth in 2012.
March 2012 Issue
Inside This Issue:
1. Debt reduction tips for Boomers
2. Spring into action: Protect your home
3. Little tricks that keep your home always looking clean
March 01, 2012
Canada housing prices won’t crash: poll
Feb 21, 2012 By Louise Egan
OTTAWA — Canada’s government will make it tougher for many homebuyers to get mortgages this year as it grapples with an overheated property market, according to analysts in a Reuters poll, who also ruled out the prospect that prices could suddenly crash.
Ten of 14 economists and strategists surveyed last week in Reuters’ first poll on the Canadian housing sector answered “yes” when asked if they thought Ottawa would tighten mortgage rules within the next 12 months.
Mortgage fraud on the rise
Nicolas Van Praet - MONTREAL - Feb 21 2012
Consumer credit company Equifax uncovered roughly $400-million worth of mortgage fraud in Canada last year, an “eyeopening” number industry experts estimate represents only a fraction of the cheating taking place in the country’s real estate market.
Housing cools as sellers hold back
Globe and Mail - Published Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012 9:36AM EST – Steve Ladurantaye
The hot housing market that powered the country's post-recession recovery is slowing to a crawl.
The Canadian Real Estate Association said sales dropped and prices moderated in January, with the weakness spread among more than half of the country's cities. Sales in Vancouver and Toronto slowed to a crawl, with few houses available to would-be buyers.
Current Mortgage Issues Key Messages - Directly from CAAMP
Based on our research and knowledge of the sector, we see no reason to tighten or restrict access to residential mortgages at this time.
February 09, 2012
Looser mortgage lending raises worries
Financial Post -Garry Marr Feb 2, 2012
Financial institutions appear to be cracking down on rules for borrowers with self-declared income, a move that comes as Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said he’s concerned about a lack standards in the sector.
Responding to a question about whether the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions was looking into the practice of banks loosening their standards for so-called stated income mortgages, Mr. Flaherty confirmed it is an issue.
The gist of it: CMHC is approaching its $600 billion government-imposed limit on issuingmortgage defaultinsurance.That’s happening largely because of lenders’ enormous appetite for something called portfolio insurance (a.k.a., “bulk insurance”).
No one fully grasps the repercussions yet, but our sense is that the news is not great (at least in the short-to-medium term) for mortgage consumers, smaller lenders and brokers.
Inside this Issue:
1. Living for today, saving for tomorrow
2. TIps fo rsafe online shopping
3. How to make your home look and feel more spacious
Canadian home prices slide for first time in a year
Financial Post Staff Jan 25, 2012 – 1:11 PM ET
OTTAWA — Canadian house prices dropped in November for the first time in nearly a year, according to the monthly Teranet-National Bank house price index released Wednesday.
The 0.2% drop followed two months of flat prices, and was the first decline in the index since a “brief correction during the three months ending November 2010,” said National Bank senior economist Marc Pinsonneault.January 19, 2012
Carney holds rates steady even as his concerns increase
Jeremy Torobin AND Sean Silcoff - OTTAWA - Globe and Mail – Jan 18, 2012
Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney is getting more worried about record levels of household debt, but until the global recovery is on more solid footing, he’ll be relying on others to deal with the issue.
It’s Mr. Carney’s dilemma. Low interest rates have underpinned a worrisome surge of debt, but the economy is too weak to justify higher rates any time soon.
Canadian debt still rising, but at slower pace: Equifax
By Nicolas Van Praet, Financial Post
MONTREAL — Canadians are more indebted than ever before but the pace at which they’re borrowing money is slowing.
Despite a reduction in consumer appetite for new credit in the fourth quarter of 2011, consumer debt loads continue to increase but at a much lesser rate than observed in previous years, according to the latest national credit report from Atlanta-based Equifax.
January 06, 2012