Bank of Canada Slashes Interest Rates by 50 BPS
The Bank of Canada Gets Aggressive For the first time in 4 years, the Bank of Canada has eased monetary policy. Following the US Federal Reserve’s lead, the Bank of Canada surprised some by slashing rates by 50 bps. The Bank of Canada also took a more dovish...
Stress Test Rate Lowered by The Bank of Canada
STRESS TEST QUALIFYING RATE LOWERED BY THE BANK OF CANADA The stress test qualifying rate was lowered 15 bps by the Bank of Canada. The new rate is 5.19%, down from 5.34%. This is a modest move when you consider Canada’s 5-year bond rate has declined 106 bps...
Federal Budget Released – What You Need To Know
The Federal Budget was released this week and the early results are mixed. Due to a severe lack of sales activity, borrowers were hoping for some relief of the B-20 Guidelines and the stress test. The budget announced two changes that relate to mortgage financing....
BC Speculation Tax – What You Need To Know
2019 Brings New BC Speculation Tax The BC NDP Party campaigned on making housing affordable for local British Columbians. Finance Minister, Caroline James, outlined their 30-point plan to tackling housing affordability. This plan calls for new regulations and laws,...
Self-Employed Borrower’s Guidelines Loosened by CMHC
On July 19th, 2018, CMHC announced changes for self-employed borrowers qualifications. These changes will make it easier for self-employed Canadians to qualify for a mortgage. In the announcement, CMHC declared “Self-employed Canadians represent a significant...