Kim Chalmers - DLC Modern Mortgage Group

04/12/2023

The Bank of Canada held its benchmark interest rate steady at 4.5 per cent on Wednesday, pausing its year-long campaign to increase borrowing costs while leaving the door open to further rate hikes if inflation doesn't slow as quickly as expected. Now is a great time for a mortgage check-up!

The Bank of Canada Holds Rates Steady Again But Maintains Its Commitment To 2% Inflation The Bank of Canada left the overnight policy rate at 4.5%, as expected, stating their view that inflation will hit 3% by mid-year and reach the 2% target by next year. They admit, however, that demand continues....

03/08/2023

As predicted, the Bank of Canada has paused rate hikes...something I think we have
all been hoping for after numerous increases over the past year.

The Bank of Canada Holds Rates Steady Even As the Fed Promises to Push Higher As expected, the central bank held the overnight rate at 4.5%, ending, for now, the eight consecutive rate increases over the past year. The Bank is also continuing its policy of quantitative tightening. This is the first....

02/28/2023

As predicted, we shouldn't see any changes to the Bank of Canada Prime Rate at their
next announcement on March 8th, 2023.

Bad News Is Good News for the Bank of Canada Statistics Canada released the real gross domestic product (GDP) figure for the final quarter of 2022 this morning, showing a marked slowdown in economic activity. This will undoubtedly keep the central bank on the sidelines when they announce their decis...

01/06/2023

The Bank of Canada will make their next announcement on January 25th, 2023. Here is some insight from DLC's
Chief Economist, Dr. Sherry Cooper.

Employment Report Ended 2022 With A Boom Today’s Labour Force Survey for December was much stronger than expected, raising the odds of a 25 bps increase in the policy rate by the Bank of Canada on January 25th. While the Bank has hiked rates by 400 bps to 4.25%, core inflation remains sticky, wage...

10/19/2022

This may come in useful for you or someone you know. Low-income seniors who own their homes may qualify for the Limited Income Sewer & Water User Fee Subsidy. To be eligible, every owner and occupier of the property must meet the following criteria:

Sixty-five years of age or over
Total monthly income in accordance with Bylaw No. 7095
Subject property is owner's principal residence

Recipients of the subsidy will be entitled to a waiver of 50% off the base charges for user fees levied for sewer and water to those who qualify.

There are more details in the link below.

Low-income seniors who own their homes may qualify for the Limited Income Sewer & Water User Fee Subsidy.  To be eligible, every owner and occupier of the property must meet the following criteria:

11/02/2021

The question everyone is asking, Fixed Rate vs. Variable Rate? Ultimately, it will depend on what happens with the current state of the Pandemic and whether or not we regress with cases and further lockdowns OR if things continue to prosper, restrictions continue to lift and the numbers continue to decrease.

The central bank’s October announcement was one of its most significant this year

08/20/2020

With interest rates at historic lows, the Stress-Test rate that is used to determine how much you may qualify for has been lowered! Call or message if you'd like to know more about how much you would qualify for TODAY with this new update.

06/08/2020

Some great news for Monday morning: Genworth Canada, has announced that they will not be following CMHC's upcoming policy changes effective July 1st, 2020! So thankfully, buyers will still have alternative options without the greater restrictions to credit scores, down payment, and debt servicing!

06/05/2020

CMHC announced some major changes that will come into effect on July 1st, 2020. How will these changes impact you?

Flex Down: You will no longer be able to borrow your down payment from existing credit you have available or new credit you apply for outside of the mortgage. You will need your own savings/investments for a minimum of 90 days OR a family member will need to gift you the down payment. The minimum down payment required remains at 5% of the purchase price.

Minimum Credit Requirement: One borrower on the mortgage will now need a credit score of 680+ The current requirement is 600+.

Debt Ratios: The maximum qualifying ratios are dropping to 35/42 from 39/44. This means you will qualify for a lower purchase price than you would today. On average, a family that currently qualifies for a $500k home will drop to a maximum of $448k. A $52k difference.

These changes may remove some prospective borrowers from the market altogether!

If you are thinking of buying a home, now would be a very good time to get prequalified and if you are already prequalified, you may want to write an offer before July 1st.

Please feel free to contact me for further information.

Protecting the economic futures of Canadians: CMHC reviews underwriting criteria