According to economists at the Bank of Nova Scotia, Canada will soon boast a more than 70 percent homeownership rate. The question now is whether or not the nation’s housing market has reached the tipping point (the United States is believed to have cracked the same 70 percent threshold just before the housing bubble burst in 2008). Growing concern over … Read More
Loophole May Make Credit Unions the Better Mortgage Option
New mortgage guidelines aimed at Canada’s sizzling real estate market might not be as ironclad as Finance Minister Mark Carney may have hoped. That’s because credit unions, which are provincially regulated, are not under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI). This loophole may provide community credit unions with an important competitive advantage and borrowers … Read More
Consumer Debt Hits A New High
A report released this morning by TransUnion shows that, despite repeated warnings, Canadians are back on the borrowing bandwagon, pushing consumer debt to a new record high. According to the report, the average Canadian’s non-mortgage debt hit $26,221 in the second quarter of 2012, up $192 from the previous quarter. This is the highest per person debt level since the … Read More
Carney and the Rate Game
Higher rates have been on Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney’s mind this week. Carey signalled the chance of tighter policy on three separate occasions this week, even after keeping the key lending rate at 1.0 percent. however, Carney’s insistance that rates are on their way up sets Canada apart from other central banks that continue to look for ways … Read More
Understanding Amortization
A shorter amortization period can help you pay off your mortgage faster and save you money. Obvious? Perhaps. So why are more and more people choosing to stretch their amortization as long as possible? The recent changes to Canadian mortgage regulations that limit amortization periods to 25-years have caused a bit of tension across the country as families scramble to … Read More