Mortgage rates are on the rise in Canada after a strong U.S. jobs growth report bumped up the cost of borrowing in the bond market.
Royal Bank says it is raising rates on some variable rates as well as five-year fixed mortgages by a tenth of a point.
via Royal Bank, CIBC raise mortgage rates after bond rates increase | CanadianBusiness.com.
Residential sales activity and home prices in Toronto continued to rise in September, keeping on pace for the second-best sales year, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board.
There were 25% more sales last month compared to a year earlier, reaching 7,658 transactions this September. The average price for all residential properties was $465,369, up 9.3%. But the board’s senior manager or market analysis, Jason Mercer, said Toronto’s market remains relatively affordable, despite the price gains this year.
via September strong for sales in Toronto, with listings expected to pick up.
A great shift is happening in the mortgage market as lenders are enticing Canadian consumers to deeply discounted fixed mortgage rates and away from variable mortgages. Low bond yields continue to provide lenders with room to manoeuvre and offer better pricing on fixed products.
via Mortgage Lenders Shifting Consumers from Variable to Fixed Mortgage Rates – MarketWatch.
Canadian home prices spiked unexpectedly by as much as 7.8 per cent in the most recent quarter, but such dramatic increases aren’t likely to last, according to a housing report released Wednesday.
The Royal LePage House Price Survey warned that the average price for a Canadian house in the third quarter was driven higher by the effect of expensive cities like Vancouver and Toronto, overshadowing the fact that price increases slowed and values even fell in some areas.
via Home prices can’t keep increasing, despite low interest rate environment | CanadianBusiness.com.
In its House Price Survey and Market Survey Forecast, Royal LePage says that Canada’s residential real estate market benefited from very low interest rates and a relatively stable domestic economy.
via Canadian home prices resilient in third quarter – The Globe and Mail.
Low mortgage rates and low unemployment and immigration will continue to push some demand, but it will be tempered by high house prices, elevated debt, and slowing employment.
via Canadian housing market will balance in 2012: BMO.
After a decade of strong growth in the Canadian housing market, residential real estate is headed for a “soft landing” with prices moderating in the months ahead, according to a Special Report from BMO Economics.
via BMO Canadian Housing Outlook: Tailwinds and Headwinds Point To Soft Landing – MarketWatch.
While the Bank of Canada has been holding the line on interest rates over the last few quarters, the current low interest rate environment is no reason for homeowners to let their guard down when it comes to managing their overall household debt, including their mortgages.
via BMO: 25 Year Amortization is the Right Mortgage for Right Now – MarketWatch.
The Bank of Canada usually has a 2% target for inflation and if prices start to rise above this target, it triggers interest rates to rise. Why have central bankers around the world not raised rates if inflation really is rising?
via The end of inflation targeting | CanadianBusiness.com.
It’s so tempting: after years of writing cheques to the bank to pay off your mortgage, the bank will now write you a nice big cheque. That’s the allure of Reverse Mortgages, which allow anyone 60 or older to borrow money against the value already built up in their home. With the number of 60-year-olds in Canada expected to double in the next 25 years, the demand for this product is expected to grow exponentially.
via Reverse mortgages – where’s the catch? – Tillsonburg News – Ontario, CA.
