Sean Hinds, Mobile Mortgage Advisor

02/29/2024

By Indradip Ghosh BENGALURU (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada is forecast to cut its overnight interest rate in June, according to a majority of economists polled by Reuters who said the greater risk was the first reduction would come later than they expect rather than earlier. The timing roughly coinc...

02/02/2024

Explore these resources for insights into 2024 mortgage trends, offering valuable information if buying a home in the upcoming year is on your to-do list.

02/01/2024

PREPARING TO GET A MORTGAGE...

1)Check your credit report

A potential lender will look at your credit report before approving you for a home loan. Before you start shopping around for a mortgage, order a copy of your credit report and ensure it doesn’t contain any errors.

If you don’t have a good credit score, mortgage lenders may:

Decline to approve your mortgage
Only consider your application if you have a large down payment
Require that someone co-sign with you on the mortgage

2)Stay within your budget

To qualify for a mortgage, you have to prove to the lender that you can afford the amount you’re asking for.

Mortgage lenders and brokers use your financial information to calculate your monthly housing costs and total debt load. They use this information to determine what you can afford...

Lenders and brokers consider information such as:

your pre-tax income
your expenses (including utilities and living costs)
the amount you’re requesting to borrow
your liabilities (debts)
your credit report and score
the amortization period
Total monthly housing costs

Your total monthly housing costs should not be more than 39% of your gross household income. This percentage is also known as the gross debt service (GDS) ratio. You may still qualify for a mortgage even if your GDS ratio is slightly higher. A higher GDS ratio means you’re increasing the risk of taking on more debt than you can afford.

Your monthly housing costs include:

mortgage payments
property taxes
heating
50% of condo/strata fees (if applicable)

Total debt load:
Your total debt load should not be more than 44% of your gross income. This includes your total monthly housing costs plus all of your other debts. This percentage is also known as the total debt service (TDS) ratio.

You may still qualify for a mortgage even if your TDS ratio is slightly higher. A higher TDS ratio means you’re increasing the risk of taking on more debt than you can afford.

Other debts may include your monthly payments for your:

credit card balances
car loans
lines of credit
student loans
child or spousal support
any other debt/financial obligations

3)How the mortgage stress test can impact your qualification

Federally regulated entities, like banks require applicants to pass a stress test to get a mortgage. Lenders that aren’t federally regulated may also ask you to pass a stress test.

This means applicants need to prove they can afford payments at a qualifying interest rate. This rate is typically higher than the actual rate in your mortgage contract.

Banks must use the higher interest rate of either:

5.25%
the interest rate you negotiate with your lender plus 2%
(That's the case for insured and uninsured mortgages)

If you already have a mortgage, you’ll need to pass this stress test if you:

*refinance your home
*take out a home equity line of credit or
*have an uninsured mortgage and switch to a new lender

Call now to connect with business.

01/26/2024

BoC rate increases are likely over

At its first meeting of 2024, the Bank of Canada (BoC) held its benchmark overnight interest rate steady, which came as no surprise to market participants. The BoC offered a sliver of hope that interest rates might come down this year after pointing to a strong likelihood that interest-rate increases are over. The BoC believes its key interest rate is at restrictive levels, which has helped moderate inflation and economic activity.



The BoC kept its benchmark overnight interest rate unchanged at 5.00% at its January meeting. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg were expecting the rate hold. January’s meeting was the fourth straight where the BoC held steady.
The benchmark overnight interest rate stands at its highest level since 2001 after an aggressive campaign by the BoC to lift interest rates in response to decades-high inflation. With inflation moderating and economic growth waning, many are left to wonder when the BoC will start pulling rates back.
Canada’s central bank was clear that it was done raising interest rates if economic conditions develop as expected. The BoC projects inflation to hover around 3% over the first half of 2024 before slowing to 2% next year.
BoC Governor Tiff Macklem pointed out that conversations among officials are now shifting to how long they should maintain rates at current, and restrictive, levels. Besides the slowdown in inflation, the BoC sees economic growth waning and the labour market starting to soften. The BoC expects Canada’s economic growth to be relatively muted over the short term.


Given its ongoing concern about inflation, the BoC seems hesitant to lower interest rates just yet. The BoC seems intent on monitoring incoming economic data and the path of inflation before potentially lowering rates later this year. While excitement is rising that interest rates will come down, the pace of the drop might be slower than expected prior to the meeting.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

10/05/2021

Great tips..

How To Care For Your Granite Countertops

10/05/2021

🍂 FRASER VALLEY MARKET UPDATE! 🍂

Positive start to fall market; new listings increase, sales soften.

Demand for residential homes of all types is strong in the Fraser Valley with more sellers returning to the table in September, which is expected at this time of year.

Across Fraser Valley, in September, the average number of days to sell:

1️⃣ a single‐family detached home was 26
2️⃣ townhome was19 days
3️⃣ Apartments took 26 days to sell

➡️MLS® HPI Benchmark Price Activity⬅️

Single Family Detached: At $1,362,220, the Benchmark price for an FVREB single‐family detached home increased 1.9 per cent compared to August 2021

Townhomes: At $707,300, the Benchmark price for an FVREB townhome increased 1.4 per cent compared to August 2021

Apartments: At $504,500, the Benchmark price for an FVREB apartment/condo increased 1.2 per cent compared to August 2021

If you'd like to know what your home is worth, shoot me a text, call or email and I'll be happy to provide you with a free market analysis and evaluation.

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"Your Local Advantage" ⁠
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☎️ Cell 604-825-3962 ⁠
📫[email protected]⁠
🌍www.sarowa.ca⁠

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10/05/2021

House prices have gone up across the Lower Mainland again, and demand continues to outstrip supply, according to real estate boards in the region.

09/29/2021

09/25/2021

08/16/2021

Canada's housing market is continuing its slowdown, with both prices and sales volumes well down in July from where they were a few months ago.