by Neil Sharma A recent study elucidated how badly homeowners got burned when Toronto’s housing market plunged about a year ago. The report, published by Move Smartly, determined that hundreds of homeowners lost an average of $140,000 because of closing defaults, and according to John Pasalis of Realosophy, that totaled $121mln in lost market value. “It tells you how rapid the … Read More

by Neil Sharma Syndicated mortgage fraud, and the consequences its unscrupulous players are beginning to reckon with, has put the Financial Services Commission of Ontario on the hot seat, with many questioning the government agency’s effectiveness. “Various parties in our industry have been talking about what’s wrong with Fortress to FSCO for seven years,” said Ron Butler of Butler Mortgage. “FSCO really took … Read More

by Andy Blatchford The Bank of Canada is maintaining its trend-setting interest rate as its careful assessment of the timing of future hikes continues amid a backdrop of moderating growth. The central bank, which kept its rate at 1.25 per cent Wednesday, said slower first-quarter growth of about 1.3 per cent was largely a result of housing markets’ responses to … Read More

by Greg Quinn and Erik Hertzberg Canadian new home prices fell for the first time since 2010 in February, led by a drop in Toronto as buyers were squeezed by higher interest rates and tougher mortgage regulations. Prices in the nation’s largest city fell 0.6 percent, the second monthly decline and the biggest in eight years. Builders also charged the … Read More

by Chris Fournier Scott Hannah says low borrowing costs and rising home prices have lured Canadians into a debt trap they may not escape if looming economic threats materialize. Hannah, president of the Credit Counselling Society, is seeing an influx of clients as higher financing costs begin to bite and people find it harder to manage. Phone calls were up … Read More