Madeline Power Mortgage Broker at Mortgage Centre

05/23/2021

UPDATE: We've reached our registration limit for Barbershop Buddies from the general public for our Virtual Convention! Thanks to everyone who's signed up to join us and looking forward to "seeing" you June 4th and 5th.

IF YOU'RE STILL INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE about our amazing barbershop hobby and how you might be able to get involved, please email Area 1 Director, Linda McMaster at [email protected] and she'd be happy to connect with you!
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There are still a LIMITED NUMBER of spots available for "Barbershop Buddy" guests to join us for our Virtual Area 1 Convention on Friday, June 4th from 7:00 - 9:00 pm and Saturday, June 5th from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm.

If you have a friend, family member or colleague who you think might be interested in learning more about our amazing hobby from the comfort of their own home, feel free to share this registration link with them and we'll make sure they receive emails and the Zoom login coordinates for the event! https://forms.gle/vW5bpxUPCKsAPwCp7

BUT WAIT - THERE'S MORE! ;-) Every Area 1 member associated with inviting a Barbershop Buddy will be eligible for a random draw for a FREE All Events Pass (AEP) for our next AC & C!

04/14/2021

07/01/2020

Happy Canada Day

Happy Canada Day from your Mortgage Centre family. Have fun and stay safe! 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦

07/28/2019

Do you know who sold the very first production Ford Mustang? Do you know it was a man by the name of Harry Phillips? Do you know how this was truly a historic moment for Newfoundland and Labrador?!

Do you know that despite this historically significant contribution Ford has yet to recognize Harry Phillips for this moment in history?

And we think it’s about time they did!

After all of these years we think it is finally time for Harry to be reunited with the Mustang at the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan. It is a bucket list item and what better way to celebrate his upcoming 85th birthday than to reunite Harry with Henry!

Let’s make it happen, people of Newfoundland and Labrador!! Please like and share to make this dream come true!

03/08/2018

In light of the GDP’s slower-than-expected growth, the Bank of Canada didn’t raise interest rates yesterday, but that doesn’t mean Canadians can breathe a sigh of relief.

While the variable rate didn’t increase, the fixed rate likely will because it’s tied to the world economy.

“What we’ve seen with fixed rates since last year is that they have gone up almost a percent, and they’re all over the place,” said Furlong. “The good thing about the fixed rate is the rate you have is secure until renewal.”

However, upon renewal the mortgage stress test could make things a tad hairy for people in fixed-rate mortgages.

“There is potential with the new stress test, and increasing fixed rate, for current mortgage holders to be stuck in their current mortgage and not be able to switch,” said Furlong. “When that happens—and banks and lenders know this—they’re stuck and subject to higher interest rates and will have to renew with their current lender.

“On the flip side to that, if you have a good broker who knows what they’re doing, there’s potential to refinance. If you’re cash tight and you’re stuck with your current lender, you can refinance some of that and pay no penalties if it’s on your renewal date. What they can also do is extend amortization. You can go to one-year, two-year, or variable. There are all kinds of products out there a good broker will analyse.”

“With the discount on variables that lenders are offering right now, I’m seeing more and more consumers go towards short terms and variables over five-year fixed, “I follow rule of 50—if the difference is 50 basis points between the fixed and variable, I’d tell the consumer to go towards the fixed rate, but if you’re over 50 basis points, I’d tell them to go towards the variable.” if they can absorb any increases, the consumer should make the final decision.

12/05/2017

Anyone looking to refinance or purchase and are looking at 20% or more of a down payment or equity, rules are changing January 1, 2018. You may want to get your approval before end of December 2017. Call me if you have any questions, 709-754-7202. Please share with friends and family.

10/17/2017

Canada's banking regulator has published the final changes to its guidelines for residential mortgage underwriting, including a financial stress test for buyers who don't need mortgage insurance.

The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions said Tuesday the changes will come into force by Jan. 1, 2018.

Even homebuyers who don't require mortgage insurance because they have a down payment of 20 per cent or more will have to prove they can continue to make payments if interest rates rise.

Other changes include restrictions on co-lending, or bundled mortgages, aimed at ensuring financial institutions do not circumvent rules that limit how much they can lend.

The final guidelines are generally similar to what OSFI had proposed in July, when the regulator put out a draft for public consultation.
The proposed changes, however, have been criticized for including potentially increasing costs and limiting access to mortgages for some home buyers.

08/15/2017

• Canadian existing home sales fell 2.1% m/m in July, a fourth consecutive monthly decline. Existing home sales are now 15.3% below the peak reached in March 2017.
• The decline was fairly broad based with sales down in two thirds of all markets across Canada. However, the biggest declines remained in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, led by a further 5.4% contraction in the Toronto market – where sales have now fallen 44% from the March peak. The only major markets to post an increase in July were Quebec City (+4.5%), Winnipeg (+4%), Montreal (+2.9%), Hamilton (+1.5%), Edmonton (+0.6%) and Regina (+1.1%).
• New listings also fell, but by a lesser 1.8% helping to keep the market well balanced. The sales-to-new listings ratio held at 53.6 or near the midpoint of where CREA suggests indicates a balanced market. New listings in Toronto have fallen back to historically normal levels following a massive spike between April and June, but the market has remained relatively soft with many of the homes listed during that period still lingering on the market. By the sales-to-new listings measure, Toronto (40.1) is now one of the softest markets in Canada. Saskatoon and Newfoundland are two other markets where supply-demand balances are tilted more in favour of buyers.
• The average home price fell 0.8% y/y, mostly as demand is shifting away from the more expensive Toronto and Vancouver markets. Home prices are still growing moderately in most regions along with balanced conditions. The quality adjusted MLS home price index was still rising at the fastest pace in markets across the Greater Golden Horseshoe with home prices still up 18.1% y/y in the Greater Toronto Area, but the pace of growth is moderating quickly. Home prices continued to rise in markets in BC, with prices up 17.8% y/y in Victoria and 8.7% in Greater Vancouver Area. Home price growth is also picking up in Ottawa (+5.8%) and the Greater Montreal Area (+4.9%), following a sustained period of below 2% growth.
Key Implications
• The overall Canadian housing market is now in its fourth month of what we expect to be a soft landing, with rising mortgage rates and more stringent mortgage regulation holding demand back broadly across Canada. Mortgage rates are expected to continue climbing with the Bank of Canada likely to hike its policy rate three times in the next year and a half. As such, housing affordability is likely to deteriorate broadly across Canada. Moreover, there is very little signs that foreign investment and/or speculation has shifted into any other market following the implementation of the nonresident's buyers tax in Ontario.
• Despite the rise in supply in the GTA that has seen the market rebalance sharply, we expect the market to undergo a soft landing going forward. On the whole, we believe that the Greater Toronto Area could sustain a moderate decline in home prices of about 6% on an annual basis as of next year, with most of the price decline already baked in. Elsewhere, more balanced conditions are likely to keep prices growing between 2% and 4% per year. While this is below the 6% average it has experienced in the last decade in a half, it is a pace consistent with income growth and rising mortgage rates.

05/30/2017

The Bank of Canada has decided to continue its 3-ball juggling act, leaving its benchmark interest rate unchanged for the 15th consecutive setting. Actually, the Bank seems to be juggling 2 balls and a chainsaw: stimulating the economy, keeping the Loonie friendly for exporters and trying to discourage even more household debt.

The overnight rate remains at 0.5%, where it has been since the middle of 2015. Right now many observers expect the Bank will stay on the sidelines until next year.

In the uncharacteristically brief statement that came with the latest setting the BoC cited low inflation and weak wage growth for the decision to leave the rate unchanged. But the Bank also said it expects the U.S. economy to start picking up in Q2. That should help Canadian exporters and could, in turn, lead to a change in interest rate policy.

Of interest to the housing sector, the Bank’s statement – which seemed designed to calm international jitters about potential American trade barriers and worries about a housing collapse – mentioned government efforts to rein-in runaway home prices. While it says the measures “have yet to have a substantial cooling effect on housing markets”, the Bank is hinting that it expects the market will slow down.