Homeowners who purchase properties with less than 20% down can take advantage of today's low interest rates -- thanks to mortgage default insurance. This insurance, which is provided by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Genworth Financial Canada and AIG United Guaranty, provides lenders with the protection they need to lend these high ratio mortgages. [...]
The listing-sheet box may be going the way of the $150,000 house. You know the box. It’s affixed in front of homes for sale and holds brochures or sheets of paper with the property’s asking price, listing details and the realtor’s business card. It’s being replaced, or superseded in importance, by a 21st-century- technology version [...]
Paul Brent Published on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009 2:27PM EST Last updated on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009 11:28AM EST Building Blocks, a special web series geared towards educating young Canadian families about various personal finance topics, launched last month on the Globe Investor personal finance site. Building Blocks will run online every Wednesday for four [...]
Is Canada's housing market overvalued? According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) - an international organization that seeks to ensure global financial stability - the answer is 'not really'. The organization's recent working paper, which was released in October, reveals that while many parts of the country were reaching levels of housing overvaluation in 2007, [...]
* Permits rise for residential, fall for nonresidential * Strength mainly in multi-family housing (Adds details) OTTAWA, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Permits for housing construction in Canada surged to a one-year high in September, driving up the value of overall building permits by 1.6 percent from August as expected, Statistics Canada said on Thursday. It [...]
STEVE LADURANTAYE From Wednesday's Globe and Mail Published on Wednesday, Nov. 04, 2009 12:00AM EST Last updated on Thursday, Nov. 05, 2009 2:23AM EST Real estate agents won't lose their grip on the listings process as part of the Canadian Real Estate Association's settlement with the Competition Bureau of Canada. The association (CREA) had signalled [...]
If you're looking to buy, you're likely wary of the effect a hot real estate market can have on your investment. After all, not only are bidding wars frustrating, but get too caught up in them and you can wind up paying far above the accurate value of your property. To protect yourself before entering [...]
Hold onto your hats, folks - it looks like fixed rates are on the rise. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. Due to a recent spike in bond rates - the metric that influences fixed rate mortgages -the big banks, and many non-bank lenders, have since increased their five-year fixed rates accordingly. A few [...]
Why it’s time to buy a house Experts say right now may be the best time in years to buy a home Friday, March 6, 2009 Julian Beltrame Canadian Press OTTAWA - Jim Rawson says it's a great time to buy a house. The regional manager of Invis mortgage brokerage firm in Toronto has been [...]
With the recent Bank of Canada interest rate cuts, and the noticeable savings passed down by the banks, the thought of refinancing has probably crossed your mind. But does it make sense to pay a hefty penalty to get out of your current mortgage? Well, that depends. To figure out if it’s truly worth it, [...]