Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the average home price could rise by as much as 14% this year, but the pace of sales could moderate by the end of 2023 if broad immunity to COVID-19 is soon achieved. Prices across the country could soar to as much as $649,400 by the end of the year and […]

Wednesday morning, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation released its most recent Housing Market Assessment for the third quarter of 2020. “Although the unprecedented income supports from governments provided temporary relief, the COVID-19 crisis negatively affected the level of permanent disposable income available to households,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s chief economist. “Along with the weakening of other drivers […]

The relentless onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic has had serious consequences for the Canadian economy. In the initial days, the economic contraction prompted the Bank of Canada to cut its overnight rate to 0.25% to support the national economy. A by-product of this move has been the ultra-low mortgage rate environment, prompting the Big Six banks to slash their […]

An August 27 Financial Post story made the case that Canada’s economic recovery “is already flagging.” But that may not be the case. Not yet, anyway. Citing recent work by RBC economist Colin Guldimann, the Post’s Ydallah Hussain argues that the CERB- and CEWS-fuelled increase in consumer spending seeing from May to July “appears to have plateaued.” […]

Mortgage insurers are not signalling enthusiasm towards the extension of six-month payment deferrals, according to an analysis by The Financial Post. The socio-economic disruption brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic brought deferrals to the fore as a vital support system for Canadian households that suddenly found their purchasing power severely restricted. Data from the Canadian Bankers Association indicated […]

Trudeau announces new emergency programme for workers who lost work from COVID-19 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced the federal government is launching the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, a new programme that will provide $2,000 a month for four months to individuals who lost their work as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Speaking outside […]

Fed Cuts Overnight Rate One Percentage Point But Markets Plummet In an unprecedented Sunday afternoon meeting, the US Federal Reserve cut their key policy rate by 100 basis points (bps) to a level of 0%-to-0.25% (see chart below). Also, the Committee announced increased access to the discount window where the Fed makes loans to banks. […]

Minister Morneau Announces New Benchmark Rate for Qualifying For Insured Mortgages The new qualifying rate will be the mortgage contract rate or a newly created benchmark very close to it plus 200 basis points, in either case. The News Release from the Department of Finance Canada states, “the Government of Canada has introduced measures to […]

How to Verify Your Down Payment When Buying a Home Saving for a down payment is one of the biggest challenges facing people wanting to buy their first home. To fulfill the conditions of your mortgage approval, it’s all about what you can prove (hard to believe – but some people have lied in the […]