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Posted by: Alisa Aragon-Lloyd
* New Stress test Rules As expected, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OFSI) confirmed that it will move ahead with the proposed new stress test which was announced in April. This will affect any uninsured mortgages which would affect anyone buying a property with more than 20% down payment, or anyone refinancing […]
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We hope you are doing well! We wanted to remind you to apply for the BC Homeowners Grant if you are eligible. To apply for the grant, you have to complete the application sent with your tax bill and return to local municipality. In most municipalities, you are able to apply for the Homeowner Grant […]
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By Alisa Aragon-Lloyd, published in “New Home and Condo Guide – Vancouver” The Canadian government has implemented credit card regulations, which it says increase transparency and protect consumers. Here are some of the new regulations now in place: • Credit contracts and application forms must have a “summary box” that clearly explains interest rates, fees, and […]
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What is All the Policy Hysteria About? Today the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) released statistics showing national existing home sales hit another all-time high in March. What was arguably more noteworthy was that new listings hit their highest level on record in seasonally adjusted terms in March. Prices continued to rise as sales dwarfed […]
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With several Big-Five bank CEOs calling for regulatory action to slow the red-hot housing market, it didn’t take long for the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), the governor of federally regulated financial institutions, to respond. In a news release issued today, OSFI proposed an increase in uninsured mortgages’ qualifying rate to the […]
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by Alisa Aragon-Lloyd, as seen in “New Condo + Condo Guide” Most people believe that being mortgage-free is their plan for retirement. That means paying off your mortgage as fast as possible becomes the priority and having other forms of investments are considered only after your property is paid off. It is important to decide […]
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Much has changed since the Bank of Canada’s last decision on January 20. While the second pandemic wave was raging, new lockdowns were implemented in late 2020, and there were fears that the economy, in consequence, was likely to grow at a 4.8% annual rate in Q4 and contract in Q1. Instead, the lockdowns were […]
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The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) released statistics showing national home sales hit another all-time high in January 2021. Canadian home sales increased 2.0% month-on-month (m-o-m) building on December’s 7.0% gain. On a year-over-year (y-o-y) basis, existing home sales surged 35.2%. As the chart below shows, January activity blew out all previous records for the […]
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by Alisa Aragon-Lloyd, as published in “The New Home and Condo Guide”, February 06th 2021. For many people, there is a sense of pride and freedom when they become homeowners, which can’t be matched by renting. When you own your own home, you are not restricted by your landlord’s rules, and your mortgage payments are […]
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Traditionally, each spring, mortgage rates start to move, followed by a spring buying rush, with a lag in the summer, and then a second rush in the fall. This past year we saw everything upended. The spring buying season started with a positive outlook and abruptly came to a complete stall as the world figured […]
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