Affordability erodes again in the first quarter of 2010…  RBC has released their latest quarterly Housing Affordability study pinpointing cross-country trends in housing affordability in provincial and major metropolitan housing markets.   Canada’s housing market started 2010 the same way they ended 2009: firing on all cylinders.  While a boom to sellers, the resulting strong home price increases, however, have hurt housing affordability across the country.  To read the complete article, visit the RBC website at: 
 http://www.rbc.com/economics/market/pdf/house.pdf

This article was forwarded to us by Roberta Melik and Tony Kovacic, Mortgage Specialists with Royal Bank of Canada.  Mortgage Specialists, RBC
780-418-7208
roberta.melik@rbc.com
tony.kovaci@rbc.com

Roberta Melik & Tony Kovacic

Article presented by Joe Bernardo, Mortgage Consultant, with i-Mortgage Solutions inc.  
5 Great Reasons to use a mortgage broker…
1)  No cost to you.    There’s absolutely no charge for our services on typical residential mortgage transactions.  How can we afford to do that?  Like many other professional services, such as insurance, mortgage brokers are generally paid a finder’s fee when we introduce trustworthy, dependable customers to a financial institution.  These fees are quite standard and nearly industry-wide so that the focus remains on you, the customer.
2)  Save time with one-stop shopping.    It could take weeks for you to organize appointments with competing mortgage lenders and we know you’d probably rather spend your time house-hunting!  We work directly with dozens of lenders, and can quickly narrow down a list of those that suit you best.  It makes comparison-shopping fast, easy, and convenient. Read the rest of this entry »

coming sooner, Carney says

Bank of Canada governor worried about inflation

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney gave his most explicit warning to date that higher interest rates are coming, and perhaps sooner and higher than previously thought.

The bank governor has always maintained that his promise to keep interest rates at historic lows was contingent on inflation remaining tame, but Wednesday issued a clear alarm that he is worried about prices.

And in a speech before the Ottawa Economic Association, he underlined just how qualified his commitment to keeping the policy rate at 0.25 until at least July has become.

“This commitment is expressly conditional on the outlook for inflation,” he stressed.

Carney also noted that core inflation, the measure the bank uses to judge underlying price pressures, has been “slightly firmer” than projected.

Last week’s Statistics Canada report that core inflation — which excludes volatile items such as energy — had peeked above the bank’s 2% target to 2.1% in February likely was the last piece of evidence Carney needed to start publicly worrying about inflation. Read the rest of this entry »

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

The Bank of Canada is keeping interest rates at historic lows for a few more months, while sending out signals that the economy is rebounding strongly and could trigger inflationary pressures.

The Canadian Press

The central bank’s more positive take on the economy followed a Statistics Canada report Monday of a surprising 5% growth spurt in the fourth quarter of 2009 and sent a strong loonie even higher.

“The level of economic activity in Canada has been slightly higher than the bank had projected in January,” the bank said Tuesday morning before markets opened.

“The economy grew at an annual rate of 5% in the fourth quarter of 2009, spurred by vigorous domestic spending and further recovery in exports.”

“Slightly higher” may be an understatement, as the bank had projected growth of only 3.3% for the last three months of 2009. Read the rest of this entry »

February 16, 2010

Jim Flaherty, Canada’s Minister of Finance, announced new lending guidelines for CMHC backed mortgage loans in an announcement earlier today.

The new rules are as follows:

1. All borrowers must qualify for a mortgage using the five year fixed rate regardless of the term chosen.  Example:  if you wish to take out a 1 year mortgage at 2.65% you will still need to qualify at the 5 year closed rage of 3.89%.

2. When refinancing a home, Canadians will only be able to refinance up to 90% of the value instead of the previous 95%.

3. If you want to purchase a revenue property, CMHC will no longer insure you.  You’ll need to put 20% down to take out a convential mortgage.

These changes come into effect April 19, 2010.

What HAS NOT change:
-> You can still purchase a property with 5% down!
-> You can still do a 35 year amortization!
-> You can still have GDS/TDS ratios up to 44% if you have a credit score over 680!

All information presented in this notice is believed to be true and accurate at the time of printing but is not guaranteed to be so.

Special rate on new Homeline Plan lines of credit still available…

RBC HOME EQUITY MARKET NEWSLETTER

Making sense of mortgage rates in today’s economy

Many prospective homebuyers are wondering what has happened to mortgage rates in 2009, and where they may go from here. RBC Economics Research recently updated its’ outlook, and here is what the group has to report.

Since hitting a low in January of 2009, longer-term interest rates have trended higher with the move accelerating in July. The prospect that the worst is over for the global economy is giving investors the confidence to venture out of low-return fixed income securities and seek higher risk investments.  While we expect many bumps on the road to recovery we still see potential for a very modest decrease in long-term rates in the final quarter of this year.

Outlook for the future

Momentum in the global economy appears to be changing. Leading indicators currently point to the end of economic contraction for the industrialized world in the third quarter of 2009. Stimulus from central banks, combined with government fiscal stimulus packages, is expected to support a fledgling recovery that is forecast to build momentum in 2010.

Read the rest of this entry »

Just a quick note from Tony and Roberta of RBC to let you know about RBC’s Special Homeline Plan Credit Line Rate.

The RBC Homeline Plan is at Prime + .50%. Effective (Nov 2, 2009) the rate would be at 2.75%. (RBC Prime is at 2.25% today).

Call Roberta Melik or Tony Kovacic at 780-418-7224 for more information and let them show you how the RBC Homeline Plan Lines of Credit can benefit you.