If you are thinking of buying your first home, next home or a rental property, now is the time to get a mortgage pre-approval and lock in that rate for up to 120 days. This way, you’ll know exactly what you can afford and have your mortgage ready in hand.
I will support you every step of the way from shopping for your home, to making an offer to getting your keys.
I will help you understand the process and ensure that you get personalized advise on the best mortgage solution for you and your needs.
Things that make your loan officer cry!
If you have ever applied for a mortgage you know how much paperwork it can be. Although we still close average transactions in less than 4 weeks, there are situations where unexpected things happen. This blog is a quick guide to the 3 things that can throw off deals, and sometimes make your mortgage originator cry. Consider it a list of things not to do during the loan process.
1. When a borrower quits their job (or gets fired) in the middle of the loan process. This shouldnt be much of a surprise but if you are trying to qualify for a loan based on your income dont change jobs during the transaction. You dont have to stay at your job forever, just dont quit in the middle of your mortgage process.
2. SURPRISES! Although life is full of surprises try to be as honest and upfront about all of your debts and financial information with your loan originator up front. Its never good when all of a sudden your mortgage team pulls your information and finds out you make great money but you have $23,000 in collection debt on that boat you forgot about. Remember you dont need to over exaggerate your income to impress your mortgage company, we are more impressed with honesty and organization.
3. Disappearing Acts. Nobody loves vacations as much as we do but there are a lot of moving parts in the real estate and mortgage process and you may need to be around to sign documents and communicate. You can still take vacations just make sure to let everyone involved in the transaction know so that they can plan around your travel.
Just remember, your Realtor, your loan originator and an entire team of others are working their to their best level to help you close on your real estate transaction- before you make a bone head move, just think What Would My Loan Officer Do?
No harm can come from asking a question so whether you are already in the mortgage process or you are thinking about jumping in soon, you can call me or email me any time for free advice that will avoid tears in the future!
Home sales plunged as interest rates continued to rise in May
On a seasonally adjusted basis, home sales slumped 8.6% from April to May, bringing the level of sales slightly below its 10-year average for the first time in 24 months. This decline also represents a third consecutive decrease, with sales down a cumulative 23.0% between February and May. The downward trend is now well established in the country as 75% of the markets have seen their number of transactions decrease during the month. We believe this market moderation should continue in the coming months as the tightening of monetary policy should push variable rates higher and make the stress test even more biting for buyers. Indeed, the stress test uses the higher of 5.25% or the contractual interest rate +2%. Until now, only customers opting for a fixed rate had to qualify with a rate of more than 5.25%. With the Bank of Canada policy rate increase expected in July, the qualification for a variable rate will also exceed 5.25%, a development that should cool the market further since over half of new mortgages are at variable rates.
According to CREA, new listings rose 4.5% in May, the first increase in three months. With the reduction in sales and the increase in new properties for sale, the number of months of inventory rose from 2.3 to 2.7 months in May, its highest level since July 2020. Based on the active-listings-to-sales ratio, market conditions loosened in almost every province during the month, but the housing market continued to be tight in the country as a whole. There are now 3 provinces out of 10 in balanced territory; B.C., Saskatchewan, and Alberta (the latter switched this month). The others continued to indicate market conditions favourable to sellers mainly due to lack of supply.
On a year-over-year basis, home sales fell 21.7% compared to the strongest month of May recorded in 2021. For the first five months of 2022, cumulative sales were down 17.8% compared to the same period in 2021.
Housing starts in Canada increased for a second month in a row by 21.SK in May to 287.3K (seasonally adjusted and annualized), the strongest print since November 2021 (at 305.9K). Starts were well above consensus calling for a 255K print in May while building permits remained high on a historical basis and housing supply continues to be tight. As interest rates rise and demand in the resale market declines, we expect housing starts to also moderate in the coming year.
The Teranet-National Bank Composite National House Price Index increased 2.0% in April compared to March and after seasonal adjustment. On a year-over-year basis, home price increased by 18.8% in April. Ten of the 11 markets in the composite index were up during the month, with Edmonton being the exception.
Source: https://www.nbc.ca/content/dam/bnc/en/rates-and-analysis/economic-analysis/economic-news-resale-market.pdf
Canada’s Housing Supply Shortages: Estimating what is needed to solve Canada’s housing affordability crisis by 2030
Were in a housing crisis. This report looks at the overall affordability for the entire housing system in Canada. The report has taken steps to estimate how much additional housing supply is required beyond current trends to restore housing affordability by 2030.
Key Highlights
CMHC projects that if current rates of new construction continue, the housing stock will increase to close to 19 million housing units by 2030. To restore affordability, CMHC projects Canada will need an additional 3.5 million units.
Two-thirds of the 3.5 million housing unit gap is in Ontario and British Columbia where housing markets are least affordable.
Additional supply would also be needed in Quebec, a province once considered affordable. It has seen a marked decline in affordability over the last few years. Other provinces remain largely affordable for a household with the average level of disposable income. However, challenges remain for low-income households in accessing housing that is affordable across Canada.
Source: https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/professionals/housing-markets-data-and-research/housing-research/research-reports/accelerate-supply/housing-shortages-canada-solving-affordability-crisis