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2017-10-19 | 10:24:49

OSFI Announces New Underwriting Guidelines for Uninsured Mortgages

Earlier this week, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) published an update to its B-20 residential mortgage underwriting guidelines. The new rules take effect January 1, 2018, and apply to all federally regulated...

2017-07-25 | 11:36:03

Increase to Mortgage Qualifying Rate (MQR)

Yesterday, July 24, 2017, news began to quietly spread that the Bank of Canada has increased its benchmark qualifying rate from 4.64% to 4.84% effective immediately.The mortgage qualifying rate (MQR) is currently applied to all INSURED and INSURABLE...

2017-07-13 | 06:54:34

Bank of Canada Increases Key Lending Rate

Yesterday, the Bank of Canada increased its key lending rate from 0.50% to 0.75%, marking the central bank's first rate increase since 2010. In turn, most lenders responded by increasing their prime rate to 2.95%, up from 2.70%. The notable exception...

2017-03-09 | 09:16:52

The Problems With Going Firm & Some Things You Should Know About High Ratio Mortgages

THE PROBLEMS WITH GOING FIRM  Let there be no doubt, we are in a seller's market in the GTA. If you are looking to make a purchase in 2017 you will find that you are competing with many other buyers out there. It is not uncommon for real estate...

2016-12-22 | 11:36:16

Understanding the new mortgage terminology

On November 30, 2016, the new mortgage rules which were announced back in October were officially implemented. These changes will require us to become accustomed to some new terminology. Here is a quick summary:INSURED MORTGAGE: What was previously...

2016-10-07 | 11:36:41

October 3, 2016: New mortgage rules announced

On October 3, 2016, Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced sweeping policy changes in the latest round of new mortgage regulations aimed at reducing overall risk in the housing market. In particular, the new rules set out to curb escalating housing...

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