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Mortgage Professionals Canada has launched a series of new surveys designed to gauge the sentiment of Canadians toward home ownership during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey will be run four times over 24 weeks.  It examines four main aspects of home ownership and home buying sentiment in Canada: -       How Covid-19 has affected employment and incomes -       Impacts on expectations about buying homes -       Attitudes and expectations on topics related to housing markets and mortgages -       Opinions about the mortgage deferral program. The first results were released last week.  They suggest that more than half of current home owners (57%) do not feel that their employment situation has been severely impacted by COVID-19.  Many others expect any changes or impacts will be short-term.  The report [...]

Canadians appear to be feeling pretty good about their personal finances as we head into the sixth month of disruptions and restrictions caused by the coronavirus. A recent poll by the Angus Reid Institute suggests 80% of Canadians rank their financial situation as “good” or “great”.  Back in April that number was 73%. However, on the other side, a significant group of about 20% call their circumstances “bad” or “terrible”.  That number climbs to 30% among those who are receiving Employment Insurance or CERB payments. The pollsters describe the overall situation as “improving but fragile”. The caution among consumers becomes clear when their buying intentions are analyzed.  Regardless of how they feel about their finances, 56% do not see the next 12 months as a [...]

In a sign that the economic tide is turning, Canada’s inflation rate moved higher in June.  Statistics Canada puts the annual inflation rate at 0.7% for the month.  That is more than double the 0.3% rate forecast by economists, and it is a significant reversal of the 0.4% drop in inflation in May and the 0.2% decline in April. Most of the increase came through higher prices for cars, clothing, energy and food. While runaway price increases are bad, moderate, reliable inflation is good.  It encourages spending and keeps money flowing through the economy.  Deflation – particularly if it persists – is bad because consumers tend to stop spending, knowing that they will be able to make their purchases later for less.  That keeps money [...]

Things are looking up, a little, as Canadians navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic.  The latest measure of confidence delivered by Bloomberg and Nanos Research suggests Canadian consumers are feeling better about the economy, the recovery and home prices. The confidence index has been on a steady rebound, climbing for seven consecutive weeks, since plunging to record lows in April.  In the latest survey it stands at 42.86, up nearly 3 points from the previous tally.  (The surveys averaged 57 in the year before the pandemic.) The survey suggests Canadians increasingly feel that the worst of the pandemic-induced downturn is over, but the pessimists still outnumber the optimists by more than three-to-one.  About 20% of those surveyed feel the economy will be stronger in six months [...]

Housing starts rose from 166.5K in April to 193.5K in May (seasonally adjusted and annualized). Urban starts improved 22K to 181.1K on increases in both the multi-unit (+14.9K to 135.9K) and the single-detached (+7.1K to 45.3K) segments. At the provincial level, urban starts shot up in Quebec from 0K in April to 56.3K as social distancing measures were eased but plunged 37.1K to 56.5K in Ontario. June results should provide a clearer snapshot of the post-lockdown residential construction industry in Canada. Projects delayed on account of the Covid-19 pandemic might sustain starts at a relatively high level for a short while but the longer-term horizon looks less promising in light of much higher joblessness and reduced immigration. Moreover, tougher CMHC standards for mortgage insurance will [...]

April 20th Premier Kathleen Wynne announced a comprehensive package of housing reforms, ahead of the provincial budget aimed at cooling the GTA housing market. The release can be found here. The announcement follows extensive media coverage about the serious concerns with the over-heating markets. Mortgage Professionals Canada has been engaged with the Ontario government and many MPPs through our lobbying activities and our recent Queen’s Park Advocacy Day. We are pleased to see measures that will increase supply, improve data collection and curb speculation within the market place, which we have been asking the government to do. However, we are disappointed that there is no additional support for first-time buyers in this package, and we suggest caution that a foreign buyer tax will not have [...]

Like many Canadians you're probably wondering if now is the right time to buy?  However, thanks to the corrective measures taken by the government, estate prices seem to have come down. The twin cities of Toronto and Vancouver have always been notorious for their high real estate prices. In response to the reforms being undertaken and despite rising mortgage rates, you might just be able to afford you home now. As a rule, higher mortgage rates should bring housing prices down. But, for the time being, the soaring rates are only making buying a home a lot more expensive. Homeowners May Need to Watch for Dropping Prices If you’re looking to buy your home, keep in mind that the drop in real estate prices could offset [...]

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) recently reported that February home sales across Canada rose 5.2 percent on a month-over-month basis to reach a level that’s just 0.8 percent below the highest peak ever seen in April 2016.   Earlier this year, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) announced its plan to increase homeowner mortgage loan insurance premiums that just came into effect last week. CMHC introduced new insurance premiums that took effect on March 17, 2017, to reflect OSFI’s new capital requirements. When announcing the changes, CMHC indicated that it didn’t expect any significant impact by the new rates on the ability of Canadians to buy a home. For the average CMHC-insured homebuyer, the changes will increase their monthly mortgage payment by approximately $5. [...]

Get a head start on decluttering, organizing and simplifying your life with these tasks you can complete in just a couple of days. The one year rule. Pick an area in your home — your closet, cupboards or bookcase — and apply the one year rule. If you haven't worn it or used it in any way over the last twelve months, donate or toss it. You can make an exception for souvenirs or sentimental items. Organize your entertainment. Sort your books, magazines, DVDs, records, and games in a way that makes sense for everyday use. Put those for the kids on lower shelves for easy access, and sell or donate any they (or you) have outgrown. Monitor expiry dates. Check your medicine cabinet, beauty [...]