Given the significant increases to mortgage rates over the past year, it may go without saying that many are feeling the pinch. Particularly those in variable rate mortgages and those with mortgages coming up for renewal. Seeing your payment increase by hundreds (or more) per month can be stressful for anyone. Afterall, it’s not like [...]
In the Bank of Canada’s rate announcement on January 25th, they told us exactly what we wanted to hear. They are pausing rate hikes. Their report stated that they expect inflation to reach 3% by the middle of this year and back to their 2% target in 2024, which was on track with their previous [...]
At the beginning of 2022, economists were forecasting that the Bank of Canada's overnight rate would increase four to five times, all at the standard 0.25% per hike. This would have meant a total rate increase of 1.00% to 1.25% for the year. Instead, we saw it increase by a whopping 4.00% with an additional [...]
The Bank of Canada increased their policy rate by another 0.25% this morning which should not have come as a surprise. This means that the prime rate will be increasing from 6.45% to 6.70% which is the highest it has been since 2001. Through the third and most of the fourth quarter last year, none [...]
High levels of debt can significantly eat into monthly cash flow which can take a toll on many households. Particularly those who are living paycheque to paycheque. Rising inflation is not making it any easier. There may be ways to utilize the equity in your home to significantly reduce your debt payments to increase your [...]
Happy New Year! 2022 was another interesting year to say the least. One year ago, it was expected that we would see the Bank of Canada increase rates by 4-5 times by the end of the year. Given that the standard size increase is 0.25%, this would have meant a hike of 1.00% to 1.25% [...]
Rising mortgage rates have affected the purchasing ability for many prospective homebuyers. Some have found themselves shut out of the market entirely. This problem could be easily solved by making changes to the mortgage stress test, or abolishing it all together as some are calling for. The combination of soaring home values and rising interest [...]
Rising mortgage rates are a concern to many. Particularly those who are in variable rate mortgages with an adjustable payment (ARM), or for those who have a mortgage that is coming up for renewal. While everyone had to pass the mortgage stress test to ensure they would still qualify with higher payments in a rising [...]
This morning was the Bank of Canada’s final rate announcement of the year, where they confirmed that they will be increasing their overnight rate by another 0.50%. This means that prime rate will now be increasing to 6.45%. This wasn’t surprising as the hike was expected by all industry professionals. The only debate was whether [...]
It’s hard to imagine that a 2.49% mortgage rate was considered high just one year ago. We became spoiled with the pandemic driven sub-2% rates available during the latter half of 2020 and the majority of 2021. When the real estate market peaked in February 2022, the average 5 year fixed rate climbed back to [...]
