The U.S. Federal Reserve and Bank of Canada seldom make rate announcements on the same day, but tomorrow will be an interesting exception. No one expects any fireworks, but if you believe market expectations, the Fed will cut its key rate 1/4 point while the BoC does a whole lot of nothing. If it all plays out accordingly, it’ll be...
It seems you can’t read a story about reverse mortgages these days without some financial expert complaining about their interest rates. Case in point:Financial planner Rob Montague, who tells the Globe‘s Rob Carrick, “My beef with the reverse mortgage is the rate. I believe it is predatory.” Mr.Montague doesn’t share any math to justify his position, but that’s typical. With...
A new 5-year fixed will cost you more today than it did last month, but not as much as normal. Canada’s biggest banks have been boosting their advertised mortgage rates following a 1/4-point pop in their funding costs over the last two weeks. Let’s go to the charts… The following graph shows what’s been happening. It’s a picture of Canada’s...
For young homebuyers wondering what mortgage offerings politicians will gift them post-election, the answer is now clearer. The Liberal win in Monday’s federal election suggests first-time buyers will likely see a more flexible First-time Home Buyer Incentive(FTHBI). That was the Libs’ key election promise on the housing file. “We will…increase the qualifying value to nearly $800,000 in the places where...
On Monday night we’ll find out which “housing affordability”plan Canada gets, be it from theConservatives, Liberals or NDP. All three parties are promising to put homes more within reach, particularly for first-time buyers. Some of their proposals are merely vote bait; some are genuinely productive. After listening to the rhetoric for weeks on end, we’ve formulated three observations. Here are...
“There should be no shame” in relying on home equity to get you through retirement, said prominent financial commentator, Pattie Lovett-Reid, on BNN Friday. It marked a departure from her prior “bias,” she admitted. Up till now, she viewed reverse mortgages as a “last product of resource” (meaning a financing solution of last resort). Many financial “experts” see reverse mortgages...
Bond yields erupted Friday for the biggest two-day gain since 2011. Canada’s 5-year yield—which is closely watched for its influence on fixed mortgage rates—closed at its highest point since July. This comes after the Trumpinator heralded a potential U.S./China trade truce. The trade war, now a year and a half old, has pounded mortgage rates on the assumption that weaker...
More than ever, your credit score affects your borrowing costs. The typical minimum for a decent deal is 650, but many lenders want 680 or 720 for their lowest mortgage rates, sometimes higher. As a general rule, big banks don’t discriminate as much on credit score as compared with other mortgage finance companies. Banks’ internal systems aren’t set up for...
As Canada’s federal election approaches, all the major parties are in vote-buying mode. The carrot they’re dangling in front of young homebuyers these days is buying power (more of it). That’s their “solution” to a problem they can’t quickly fix: high home prices. But the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is calling them out. The IMF, which is notorious for its...
There’s no industry-wide data on this, but whenever prime rate starts climbing, lenders tell us that at least 1 in 20 variable-rate borrowers lock in (convert) their variable rate to a fixed rate.And a good number of those borrowers are getting one stinkybum biscuit of a rate. One poor mortgagor I spoke with recently asked his lender to lock in....
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