While I’ve been busy sinking money into mortgage payments, daycare costs, RESPs, RRSPs, utilities, groceries, vehicle maintenance and the occasional vacation, I’ve somehow failed to notice that many Canadians seem to be doing all this – and stepping up their mortgage repayments, too. According to the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals, over the past 20 […]

As a result of prudent mortgage lending practices, the number of mortgages in arrears in Canada was trending down in 2011 and the first half of 2012, according to the Canadian Housing Observer, released yesterday by CMHC.   “The Canadian Housing Observer is an indispensable source of information about housing’s role in the economy, and […]

OTTAWA — Canadians are more in hock today than ever before, Statistics Canada said Thursday in releasing fresh data on household debt. The new report shows household debt to annual disposable income reached a new high at 164.6%, from 163.3% the previous quarter. Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney has named rising household debt a […]

On Thursday, Amanda Lang—co-host of The Lang and O’Leary Exchange—made a comment worth exploring. While talking with Kevin O’Leary about the risks of variable mortgage rates, she stated: “Some people can forecast [rates] and arrange their affairs accordingly. Rates won’t…gap up. They will climb in some orderly fashion. …It’s very rare to see a multi-move […]

Julia Thomson hasn’t won the lottery. She hasn’t been reunited with a long lost, fabulously wealthy, and remarkably generous uncle. And she hasn’t discovered oil in her backyard. All of which is surprising, considering this declaration: “We paid off our mortgage in four and a half years.” When Thomson and her husband were approved for […]

Canada’s financial regulator will release new guidelines for mortgage insurers early next year, including the government’s Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. – but they won’t drag down the housing market as much as the guidelines for banks have, says the country’s banking watchdog.   The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions will outline what […]

I would emphasize that while a 10% correction sounds scary, in actual fact, this would be a healthy outcome WHAT THE ECONOMISTS SAID Twenty forecasters were polled on Canada’s housing market. Here are the results CANADIAN HOUSE PRICES A rise of 0.1% in 2012 was the median from 14 forecastsA rise of 0.1% in 2013 […]

 Maybe this is telling us you shouldn’t buy the biggest house Just sit back and do nothing. It doesn’t sound like the most proactive advice when it comes to the housing market, but it might just be what everybody needs to hear. Panic is the worst thing that could happen because when that mentality sets […]

Survey results suggest most Canadians feel now is a great time to buy a home, but not for them personally. Photograph by: File , Reuters   Survey results suggest most Canadians feel now is a great time to buy a home, but not for them personally.   A poll done for Royal Bank of Canada […]

Did OSFI kill the Smith Manoeuvre? Tens of thousands of Canadians employ leveraged investing strategies like the Smith Manoeuvre. They rely on these techniques to magnify their investment gains and pay down their mortgages faster. The Smith Manoeuvre entails: re-borrowing your regular mortgage principal payments investing that money in the market writing off the investment […]