According to a study completed by RBC, the cost of owning a single family, detached home in Canada has increased to about 43% of a family’s before tax income. The record high was 57% which was reached in the second quarter of 1990.

Diane Francis of the Financial Post wrote a very interesting article on how CMHC and low interest rates are contributing to a housing bubble.

Check out Toronto Realtor George O’Neill talk about using Bully Offers when purchasing your home.

One of the biggest roadblocks for first time homebuyers is saving the downpayment. With the burdens of paying rent, student loans and other expenses it is not realistic to expect you can save 20% of a home’s purchase price for your downpayment. CMHC Mortgage Insurance allows homebuyers with smaller downpayments to purchase their home.

I am now offering my clients 3.99% for 5 year fixed mortgage preapprovals.

Recently some of the lowest mortgage rates have been attached to mortgages with non-standard terms. In this post I will explain a bit about the Canadian Mortgage Backed Security market and how it contributes to the offering of the unique mortgages.

As bond yields have been decreasing many Canadians have been asking why haven’t mortgage rates dropped accordingly. There are actually a couple of reasons for this.

Mortgage Pre-approvals may soon be extinct. The high cost to banks of issuing pre-approvals is finally causing them to make some changes. Some lenders have cut out pre-approvals completely while some are charging a rate premium.

Securing an attractive interest rate may be the top priority for most borrowers, some low-rate mortgages available today offer limited flexibility. For example, “no frills” mortgages offer favourable rates, but may limit your ability to pay off your mortgage sooner

Many people avoid getting mortgage life insurance when they sign up for their new mortgage because they feel it is too expensive….but is t really? What would it cost you if an unfortunate event happened to your family and you are not covered?