OSFI B20 mortgage guideline changes 2017 – Part 1

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B20?  Is that some kind of vitamin?

It certainly sounds like a vitamin, but unfortunately, it is something else altogether.  The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions is the regulator for all federal mortgage lending institutions.  They set the regulations for mortgage companies like banks to follow (or ignore).

The latest updates to the B20 mortgage regulations could bring some potentially very disrupting changes to the real estate market, especially if you are wanting to get a mortgage in Vancouver, or you are a mortgage broker in Vancouver. In summary: (more…)

Bank of Canada announces increase to the prime lending rate.

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I am just sending a quick note out to let you know about today’s announcement by the Bank of Canada to increase the prime lending rate. The increase is .25% and is applicable to variable and adjustable rate mortgages.

If you are one of the people on a fixed rate mortgage, then this will not affect you at this time. If you are on a variable rate, most lenders adjust the payment to reflect the interest rate change. A couple lenders will keep your payment the same but you will be paying less principal and more interest with each payment. (more…)

Another reason Vancouver home prices will not increase as quickly this year

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The Greater Vancouver real estate market is getting hit from all angles at the moment.  There is the foreign buyers tax, the empty home property tax and the most recent draconian mortgage lending rule changes.  The foreign buyers tax has been scaled back somewhat to make it more reasonable for those with work permits, but it is still a major deterrent to property speculators looking to park their money. (more…)

About the BC Home Partnership Program

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The newest program initiative offered by the BC government has been officially launched as of Jan. 16th.  The program is called the BC Home Partnership Program, and under the terms of the program, eligible first-time homebuyers will be able to receive 5% of the value of your home purchase up to a maximum of $37,500 on a maximum property value of $750,000.  The program matches, dollar for dollar, the down-payment of the home buyer.  The program provides the funds secured by a second mortgage behind your regular mortgage. (more…)

Happy New Year! A year in review for real estate and mortgages

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First of all, I want to wish everyone out there a Happy New Year.  2016 was an interesting year, with many twists and turns for the real estate market in the Greater Vancouver Area.  Mortgage brokers like myself are still trying to get our bearings after being spun in so many circles. (more…)

First-Time Home Buyer Programs BC government announcement

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Tax Deductible Mortgage
By: Germán Poo-Caamaño

(Update: this program has been discontinued.  To learn more about other home buyer programs in BC, check out the article home buyer incentive programs summarized.)

The government today announced a  home buyers program in BC to help first time home buyers get into the market and purchase a home.  The program matches the down payment of the borrower dollar for dollar in the form of a second mortgage to a limit of $37,500.  The mortgage provided will be a 25 year amortized mortgage with a 0% interest rate, and payments would not need to be made on the mortgage for the first 5 years of the term.  To be eligible for this program, borrowers have to meet the following criteria: (more…)

8 Scams to Watch Out For This Holiday Season

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The holidays are a happy time for celebrating with family, friends, and co-workers. Unfortunately, this time of year can also be turned sour by a wide variety of clever frauds, unauthorized debit and credit card transactions, and bogus person-to-person scams. By the end of 2015, individuals, retailers, charitable donors, and companies were victimized to the tune of $1.5 billion… and that number is expected to have gone up in 2016. (more…)

Mortgage rule announcements and how it affects you

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What changes were announced today?

Insured mortgages will be qualified at 5-year benchmark rate of 4.64%

You will now need to be qualified for a 5 year fixed mortgage as if you were getting a rate of 4.64%. Talk about pulling out a jackhammer where a chisel was needed!  If you are currently buying a home with less than 20% down, decrease the approval amount by 15-20%.  Unless there are additional fine details that decrease the impact of this announcement, the Canadian government has just hammered the major centres across Canada.  Particularly in Vancouver and Toronto. (more…)

15% property transfer tax on foreign buyers – what next?

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Some trends to look for in real estate in the coming months

Vancouver housing
By: JamesZ_Flickr

Wow!  I honestly did not see this day coming…it must have been the last 6 years of writing about it consistently…they are listening to me!  Or not.  I simultaneously had both the reactions “They finally did something about this” and “This seems heavy handed.” as I heard more about these changes. (more…)

Why is the real estate market in the Greater Vancouver Area going crazy?

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Here is another reason, and its one that is largely overlooked

housing market

On my website, since mortgages are so BORING for people to read about, and subjectively painful to enter into, most of what I write about centres around two things:

  1. 1) Government regulation of the mortgage lending rules making it difficult for the average resident to obtain a mortgage to get into the housing market.
  2. 2) The obscenely expensive housing market in the Greater Vancouver Area and the causes of it.

This article is about point number 2.  But its a new slant on it! (more…)