It PAYS to shop around.
Many Canadian homeowners pay too much for their homes because they are not getting the best mortgage financing available in the market.
The mortgage process can be intimidating for homeowners, and some financial institutions don't make the process any easier.
But I’m here to help!
As your personal mortgage consultant, I’m an independent, unbiased, expert, here to help you move into a home that you will love.
I have access to mortgage products from a multitude of lenders at my fingertips and I work with you to determine the best product that will fit your immediate financial needs and future goals.
VERICO mortgage specialists are Canada’s Trusted Experts who will be with you through the life of your mortgage.
I save you money by sourcing the best products at the best rates – not only on your first mortgage but through every subsequent renewal. So whether you're buying a home, renewing your mortgage, refinancing, renovating, investing, or consolidating your debts — I’m your personal mortgage consultant who will help you get the right financing, from the right lender, at the right rate.
Please call me today for your best mortgage solution and advice. Phone: 604.802.8193
Rates, Refinancing and Relief - The Effects of COVID19 - UPDATED March 24th
More Rate Increases
HSBC often leads the market on mortgage pricing and today it upped multiple rates:
3yr fixed (high ratio): 1.88% to 1.99% Still the lowest rate in Canada
5yr fixed (switch/purchase): 2.49% to 2.69%
5yr fixed (refis): 2.59% to 2.79%
5yr variable (switch/purchase): 2.49% to 2.74%
5yr variable (refis): 2.59% to 2.84% (P 0.11%)
Evaporating variable-rate discounts are sadly a sign of the times, even at rate leader HSBC.
Extraordinary Delays:
Extreme application volumes are leaving some applicants waiting over two weeks for mortgage approvals. Generally speaking, the better the mortgage deal, the more applications the lender gets and the longer borrowers must wait.
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Rates and Refinacing
This week has been yet another roller coaster of news, that none of us have fully been able to digest let alone fully understand. The COVID19 crisis has rocked the markets and that flight of capital has caused rates to fall. This caused a flurry of inquiries for most brokers regarding refinances to catch those suddenly lower rates. Unfortunately for the borrower who did not react quickly, just as quickly as rates fell, they popped back up again, in some cases above the levels they were at prior to their drop. This has caused much confusion in conversations with our clients. Didnt the Bank of Canada lower the rate twice? well, yes, they did. However, as the banks have watched the COVID19 situation unfold, they have become nervous of liquidity and risk issues. This has driven them to inflate their margins to potentially allow for losses such as defaults.
The net effect is that if you are looking at a purchase or refinance today, you will likely find both fixed and net variable rates at roughly the same levels as they were back in January or February. The big question is, when will these rate increases end. If the 2008 market drop was any indication, we will likely see either rates staying the course or potentially bumping upwards slightly, again depending on the investors perception of risk in government bonds.
Bottom line is the rates are, and have been at historically low levels for a long time now. With the historical rate for a 5 year, fixed rate mortgage around 6%, the current available rates around 3% are a bargain. My advice in such uncertain times would be to take a fixed rate and know what your costs will be for the next 5 years. The discount on variables has evaporated so at this point, the variable option unlikely would give the savings you may have seen in the past and should the BOC raise rates over the course of the typical 5 year term, you may actually be paying a premium. Food for thought.
Relief
Id like to leave you with some information many of us have been wondering about, Payment Relief.
Most banks and mortgage companies have now announced, that during what looks like an uncertain period ahead, should you need a break from your monthly mortgage payments, they are willing to assist. The gist of the offer is that with many lenders, you may miss up to six months of payments to offset a loss of income should you be laid off. The mechanics of this is that the lender will allow you to miss those payments and instead, add the interest portion that you would have otherwise paid into the principle amount of your mortgage. This is not free money. The interest portion will be capitalized into the amount you owe so after the six months of missed payments, you will begin to pay it back with a portion of your normal payment, basically extending the amortization of your mortgage by a little over six months from where it sits today. Dont get me wrong, this is a great deal for a borrower if you really need it. If not, it adds to your interest costs and should be avoided. In other words, dont do it just because you can.
If you need to discuss possible payment relief with your mortgage lender, below is a partial list of major Canadian lenders for your convenience. If youd like to discuss potential refinances, equity take-out or other mortgage related issues, I am always available to assist you as well.
Feel free to reach out directly by phone or text to: 604.802.8193 or email me at robert@robertmogensen.com
Stay safe and stay well.
Robert Mogensen Mortgage Consultant
ATB 1-800-332-8383
B2B 1 800 263 8349
BMO 1-877-895-3278
Bridgewater 1-866-243-4301
CIBC 1-800-465-2422
CMLS 1-888-995-2657
Optimum 1-866-441-3775
Equitable 1-888-334-3313
Connect First 403-736-4000
Chinook Financial 403-934-3358
First Calgary Financial 403-736-4000
First National 1-888-488-0794
Haventree 1-855-272-0051
Home Trust 1-855-270-3630
HSBC 1-888-310-4722
ICICI 1-888-424-2422
Manulife 1-877-765-2265
MCAP 1-800-265-2624
Merix 1-877-637-4911
Marathon 1-855-503-6060
RBC 1-866-809-5800
RFA 1-877-416-7873
RMG 1-866-809-5800
Scotia 1-800-472-6842
Servus 1-877-378-8728
Street Capital 1-866-683-8090
TD 1-866-222-3456
Index growth slows further in January
In January the TeranetNational Bank National Composite House Price IndexTM was up 0.3% from the previous month. It was the third consecutive month in which the index rose less than the month before. The increase was led by five of the 11 constituent markets: Hamilton (2.0%), Montreal (1.0%), Victoria (0.6%), Halifax (0.4%) and Vancouver (0.4%). Rises of less than the countrywide average were reported for Quebec City (0.3%) and Ottawa-Gatineau (0.1%). Indexes were down from the month before in Toronto (0.1%), Calgary (0.2%), Edmonton (0.4%) and Winnipeg (0.4%). After three months September, October, November in which all 11 markets of the composite index were up from the month before, it was a second consecutive month in which one or more markets were down on the month.
The price rise is consistent with the rise of home sales volume over the last several months as reported by the Canadian Real Estate Association. For a fifth straight month, the number of sale pairs[1] entering into the 11 metropolitan indexes was higher than a year earlier. The unsmoothed composite index, seasonally adjusted, was up 0.9% in January, suggesting that the published (smoothed) index could continue its uptrend.
Canadian home sales continue their momentum to start 2021
In January, Canadian home sales increased 2.0% month-on-month, building on Decembers 7.0% gain. On a year-on-year basis, they were up 35.2%.
Provincially, sales were up in 8 of 10 provinces in January, with strong gains recorded in PEI (+20.5% m/m) and Alberta (+11.9%). On the flipside, a relatively steep decline was recorded in Nova Scotia (-8.3%).
New listings dropped by 13.5% m/m in January. The combination of rising sales and falling new listings brought the months supply of inventory measure to under 1.9 months.
The national sales-to-new listings ratio also increased to 90.7% its highest level by far. Every province was in sellers territory in December, and many of those in the eastern part of Canada had ratios over 100% (Quebec: 128.3%; New Brunswick: 116.0%; Nova Scotia: 114.3% and PEI:101.5%). This means that there were more sales than new units listed last month in these provinces. This is a rare situation, but has occurred before in the Atlantic Provinces. However, January marked a first on this front in Quebec. Elsewhere, ratios were particularly elevated in Manitoba (86.1%) and Ontario (88.6).
Strong demand and historically tight conditions were reflected in prices. Indeed, Canadian average home prices surged by 4.7% m/m in January. On a year-on-year basis, they were up 22.8%, marking an acceleration from December. However, prices were up in 8 of 10 provinces during the month, with the largest gains occurring in Alberta (+8.1%) and Ontario (7.4%).
Compared with the average sales price, the MLS home price index, a more like for like measure, increased 2.0% m/m. Single family home prices rose 2.6% m/m (and a robust 17.4% y/y), whereas apartment prices advanced by a smaller 0.2% m/m (and decelerated to 3.3% y/y). In Toronto, apartment prices increased 0.4% m/m, the first gain in 4 months.
Key Implications
Home sales picked up right where they left off to start 2021. Demand was likely given a lift by ultra-low mortgage rates, which dropped again during the month. Januarys robust gain coupled with a strong handoff into this year virtually ensures that sales will increase in the first quarter. However, with sales likely running above fundamentally-supported levels, we think some cooling in activity will take place, especially in the second half. A dwindling supply of inventories, when benchmarked against the current sales pace, could also weigh on activity moving forward.
With todays data showing a solid gain in prices last month and new supply collapsing across nearly the entire country, markets were historically tight. This points to further strong price gains ahead in the near-term.
Also notable was that benchmark condo prices grew for the first time in several months in Toronto. Although supply remains elevated, conditions are becoming tighter than what we saw last fall. This suggests that further gains are in store.
Source: https://economics.td.com/ca-existing-home-sales