Mortgage Bytes

• Edmonton has usurped Calgary as Canada's top dog in 1-year house appreciation, with 42.5% year-over-year gains.
• The stock of Xceed, a Canadian subprime lender, has been on a tear throughout the U.S. subprime crisis.  It's up 27% from its March lows, in part because of less competition from U.S. lenders who are funding fewer subprime mortgages.  
• New mortgage companies keep springing up.  U.S.-backed Manchester Financial is launching a prime mortgage business in Canada in Q3 2007.  They'll start in Ontario and expand to subprime products and other provinces in 2008.
• National Bank has launched a "Made-to-Measure" mortgage, designed to diversify your mortgage risk and provide flexibility.  It lets you divide your mortgage into multiple terms, with different rates, payment frequencies, and amortizations.  For example, you can have a 2-year variable rate for 1/2 of your mortgage (to benefit from lower short-term rates) and a 5-year fixed rate for the other 1/2 (to provide fixed-rate security).
• Citizens Bank now offers a "Green" mortgage.  Borrowers get a free home energy audit, recycling bin, fluorescent light bulbs, coupons, and samples with a retail value "over $800."  Citizens also donates $100 for you to the Conservation Council of Ontario.

Feel free to Email us or call MyVMB if you need more info on these new mortgages.