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!
I’m a VERICO Mortgage Advisor and I’m an independent, unbiased, expert, here to help you move into a home you love.
I have access to mortgage products from over forty 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 the VERICO Mortgage Advisor who can help you get the right financing, from the right lender, at the right rate.
Darcie B: I had an excellent experience with Shelley. She was knowledgable, informative, efficient, and easy to contact. I am happy with my mortgage and would recommend Shelley to family and friends.
Dave M: I was completely satisfied with Shelley’s expertise, knowledge, and know that our best interests were of primary importance to her. I would recommend her to family and friends. I appreciated how she researched our requirements, provided us options, and explained those options to us in a very understandable way.
Judith V: We are happily settling into our new home and we really can’t thank Shelley enough for helping us navigate such a crazy, hectic time. Shelley is well knowledgeable of the available products and processes and if she isn’t sure, she always spends the time to do the research. We appreciate that she gives us all the options available to us and is very honest, even if it means that we won’t be able to use her services at that time. We have never felt like she was trying to sell us something for the sake of selling us something. Her friendly, approachable personality makes us feel like one of the family. Shelley has taken care of our family for a number of years and we will continue to be her clients for the duration of her career. We are very fortunate to have Shelley working for us.
Margaret M: I was completely satisfied with Shelley’s service. She kept me well informed throughout the whole process and handled everything; I just showed up and signed paperwork. Shelley was very professional, knowledgeable and had my best interests in mind. I would not hesitate to recommend Shelley and her services to one and all!
Suzanne M: I was completely satisfied with every aspect of Shelley’s services and appreciate how she met all my needs!
Michael P: Overall, we were completely satisfied with Shelley’s services and would not hesitate to recommend her. She was able to get financing in place when others could not.
K Friesen: Shelley clearly understood and met our needs. We have no hesitation in recommending Shelley. She assured us that we were set up in a strong financial standing to go through the process of building, and ultimately has our dream house build in progress! Shelley was amazing and handled everything extremely fast!
Zaneta O: Shelley was able to get me the house I really wanted and exceeded my expectation in all that she did for me. I highly recommend her!
A New Year-Time for a Mortgage Check Up?
The new year is a time for making personal resolutions, writing business plans, evaluating your involvement in memberships and affiliations, and getting back on track with health and fitness. It is also a great time to book a mortgage checkup, and make sure your mortgage is working for you the way it should be.
How do you know if a mortgage checkup will benefit you? Heres a few questions to ask yourself. If the answer is yes to one or more, then its time to book an appointment with your mortgage professional:
Is my mortgage renewing this year?
In our constantly changing mortgage environment, earlier contact regular communication is always better. Keep your mortgage professional up to date on your current situation and plans moving forward so she/he can work ahead and ensure you are in the best situation for your next mortgage term.
Am I considering buying a new home, cottage or investment property this year?
Fully underwritten mortgage pre-approvals with interest rate holds are more important than ever when considering a new purchase this year, even for well qualified applicants.
What is the best source of funds to complete my home renovations/upgrades?
Cash savings, secured or unsecured lines of credit, mortgage refinance, personal loan-your mortgage professional can advise your best, lowest cost options.
How can I be mortgage free faster?
An annual mortgage review can track your progress and encourage you to make small changes that can save thousands of dollars. Your mortgage professional can play an integral part in your plan to pay off your mortgage.
How can I eliminate or reduce higher interest debt?
A review of your assets, debt, costs and cash flow can allow your mortgage professional to help with a plan to pay down debt and reduce costs with manageable monthly cash flow.
Life changes have occurred-is my current mortgage still the best fit?
Your current mortgage may no longer be the best fit if youve experienced a major life change. Even if your mortgage is still mid-term and not up for renewal, youll benefit from a visit with your mortgage professional to update your details, discuss options and formulate a plan moving forward.
Is there a better, lower cost mortgage option in the market that I qualify for?
Your mortgage professional can compare the costs of your current mortgage with what is available today (even mid mortgage term) and advise if its in your best interest to make changes. She/he can also provide peace of mind when you are currently in the best, lowest cost product in the market.
Should I consider locking in my variable rate mortgage?
If you are in a variable rate mortgage product, its important to keep in touch with your mortgage professional on a regular basis and have a plan moving forward in the event of rising mortgage rates.
How do I reduce/improve monthly cash flow?
A review of your assets and debts can allow your mortgage professional to help with a plan to ensure your monthly cash flow is manageable.
In 2018, you have the benefit of choice. Even if youve had a long-term relationship with a financial institution, seek others, get more opinions and be open to other options. Get good advice from someone you like and trust. Look ahead and start early.
For a free, no obligation mortgage checkup, please contact me by phone @ 204-479-6064 or email @ shelleys@onelinkmortgage.com.
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
