I understand that for many people, reaching the minimum 5% down payment is already very tough.  But if you are in a position to put down more, the structure of mortgage default insurance premiums definitely gives you a reason to do it.  If you have less than 20% down payment when you purchase a home you will need to pay a mortgage default insurance premium.  This protects your mortgage lender if you default on your mortgage. In June of this year, mortgage default insurance premiums...

The Bank of Canada announced today that it is holding its key rate steady at 0.50 per cent noting “the risks around the inflation profile are roughly balanced. Meanwhile, as financial vulnerabilities in the household sector continue to edge higher, risks to financial stability are evolving as expected.” Taking all of these developments into consideration, the Bank judges the current monetary stimulus remains appropriate.

Looking forward to 2016 and 2017, the Bank’s outlook is positive...

The Bank of Canada announced today that it is holding its key rate steady at 0.50 per cent as “the stimulative effects of previous monetary policy actions are working their way through the Canadian economy.” The Bank had cut the benchmark rate twice earlier this year as the economy faltered with falling oil prices.

Great news if you’ve got a variable-rate mortgage, need a new mortgage, are renewing, or want to consolidate debt at the lowest cost funds. The prime rate will likely...

There is no end of headlines citing reports by economists, think tanks, etc., quoting statistics galore about what is happening and will happen with Real Estate values. All of the endless speculation does little to quell the fears of first-time homebuyers, or in many cases, current home-owners.

It is worth keeping in mind that the best predictor of what will happen tomorrow is often what happened yesterday. Certainly, the Real Estate market movements tend to be far less erratic than the stock...

For First Time Home Buyers, we found Graham to be very patient (at least 2 years waiting for us to prepare to buy a home ) and knowledgeable and to the point in his search on finding us our first home. You always hear that there are a lot of things you don’t know when buying a house, Graham was very forth coming of what we needed to expect and know about buying a home. Working with Graham was a very positive and enjoyable experience.

19-Aug-15

Gary & Leslie