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Mortgage Bytes

General Mortgage News

  • Canadian-mortgage-volume Despite higher rates and tighter credit, Canadian mortgage lending volumes are up 7.7% in the past year.
  • Are more subprime customers on the way? CIBC economist Benjamin Tal says personal bankruptcies could jump 15% in the next 12 months. They were already up almost 30% in September.
  • “Past studies indicate that when times get tough, investment properties are the first to go into default.” – Mortgage Centre’s Peter Kinch
  • “You will see a lot of smaller players going by the wayside. They just can’t get credit,” says developer Ward McAllister. “Many projects are being shelved right now.” (Journal of Commerce)
  • Some alternatives to 100% financing.
  • Mortgage credit tips.
  • Million Dollar Journey has a primer on reverse mortgages.
  • No U.S.-style mortgage meltdown here says BMO.

Housing Trends

  • Falling-Housing-Prices 13%.  That’s Central 1 Credit Union’s median projected decline in BC housing prices in 2009. For 2010 they see prices falling another 5%.  (Kelowna Capital News)
  • “Historically, real estate prices increase by about 3% per year plus inflation.” – RE/MAX Condos Plus
  • CMHC expects Canadian housing prices to rise a lusty 0.25% next year. (Financial Post)
  • Montreal home prices are up 6% over last year. Tres bien!
  • TREB says Toronto home prices are down 10% versus last year. (Globe & Mail)
  • About 1/2 of the condo investors in downtown Toronto rent out their units. – Financial Post
  • This story from Real Estate Intelligence shows that home prices in 7 provinces/territories are up year-over-year…a lot in some cases.
  • “Real Estate is a local market…national stats…mean nothing.” – RE/MAX Condos Plus
  • “Headline [housing price declines] reflect a current weighting for each city, which leads to a significant bias to the overall average price…the national headline number is down by close to 6% (year-over-year) last month, but if properly weighted, house prices fell by only 1%.” – CIBC economist Benjamin Tal
  • “There appears to be a good chance that housing will be more affordable in late winter due to a combination of softer prices and lower mortgage rates.” – Gordon Pape
  • Merrill Lynch economist David Wolf warns there is a “high correlation” between Canada’s home prices today, and those in the U.S. a few years ago. (Financial Post)

Economy

  • Canadian-Economy “The Bank of Canada will likewise ease another quarter point before year-end.” – CIBC World Markets
  • It’s not just the U.S.  Credit markets around the globe are in desperate straights. Take the UK for example. They slashed rates 1.5% last week–which is almost unheard of. Only during the 1981 recession have they ever cut more.
  • “The worst part for the economy is largely still ahead of us. The speed at which things are deteriorating is alarming.” – Scotia Capital’s Derek Holt (TheRecord.com)

Miscellaneous

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Last modified: December 24, 2021

Robert McLister is one of Canada’s best-known mortgage experts. A mortgage columnist for The Globe and Mail, interest rate analyst and editor of MortgageLogic.news, Rob has been covering Canada's mortgage market since 2007.

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