The Bank of Canada (BoC) will be meeting next Wednesday (March 2, 2022), and most economists and forecasters expect that it will raise the Prime lending rate by 0.25%. This will be the first rate increase we’ve seen since the BoC slashed rates at the start of the pandemic in early 2020. Why is Prime Increasing? The BoC is expected… Read More »
COVID-19 – Information for Tenants and Landlords
I was recently contacted by one of our wonderful tenants who happens to be self-employed and in an industry that had to shut down quickly due to COVID19 a couple of weeks ago. She was being proactive in explaining her financial situation and anticipating that cash-flow would be a challenge for April. I did some research and proposed a plan… Read More »
Post 2019 Election – Liberal Minority and Mortgage Rate Outlook
Well, the Election was interesting, wasn’t it? With new Liberal minority government the future for mortgage rates is still a bit up in the air. Today, as expected, the Bank of Canada (BOC) decided to hold their prime lending rate at 1.75%, which means most banks and credit unions will keep their consumer Prime Rates at 3.95% (so no immediate… Read More »
Bank of Canada increases interest rate by 0.25%
On September 6, 2017 the Bank of Canada increased the overnight rate by 0.25%, causing prime lending rates at financial institutions to increase by the same amount. If you have a variable rate mortgage… The impact this increase will have on your mortgage payment will depend on the size as well as the amortization period, but you can estimate the increase… Read More »
Great News for First Time Home Buyers!
The BC Liberal Government announced today that it is implementing a program to provide down payment assistance to qualifying first time home buyers. The new program is called the B.C. Home Owner Mortgage and Equity (B.C. HOME) Partnership program, and will provide a loan to a qualified first time buyer to assist with the down payment on the purchase of… Read More »
96.7% of property buyers in BC are Canadians
We’ve all heard the theory that property prices in BC are being driven up by ‘all the foreign buyers’, but the data released yesterday just doesn’t support that theory. According to the Province, only 3.3% of purchases in BC between June 10th and June 29th involved foreign nationals. That number is no doubt surprising to many, but if you’ve been… Read More »
Subject-free purchase offers are stressful
Came across an interesting article on the Globe and Mail about the risk of making a purchase offer with no subjects (link below). From our perspective, being responsible for arranging the purchase financing, these are the most stressful types of deals. Even if you know the client’s income and credit are great, there’s always the chance that the lender won’t… Read More »
Federal Budget 2015
The Federal budget 2015 was released today. If you’re curious about the highlights, you can find a great round-up of articles discussing the details here: //www.moneysense.ca/tag/budget-2015