30 Mar

Big banks raise mortgage rates in sign era of historically low rates ending

General

Posted by: Tammy O'Callaghan

 Sunny Freeman, The Canadian Press TORONTO – Rising mortgage rates announced Monday signal the end of historically low home borrowing costs and present Canadian consumers with a dilemma: either stay flexible, hope for the best and ride out the next several months or lock in to long-term loans. Three big banks raised their mortgage rates […]

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29 Mar

RBC, TD hike mortgage rates

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Posted by: Tammy O'Callaghan

http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2010/03/29/mortgage-rates-up.html     Other banks expected to follow suit Last Updated: Monday, March 29, 2010 | 10:24 AM ET Comments44Recommend43 CBC News Royal Bank and TD Canada Trust announced Monday they are increasing several mortgage rates by up to 6/10ths of a percentage point. The biggest jump is attached to the popular five-year fixed closed rate, which […]

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24 Mar

Canada’s housing boom continues to outpace recovery in developed countries

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Posted by: Tammy O'Callaghan

 By Sunny Freeman, The Canadian Press TORONTO – Canada’s housing boom will continue this spring as exceptionally low mortgage rates – and the expectation that borrowing costs will soon be headed higher – add a sense of urgency to consumer buying. A Scotiabank global real estate trends report released Tuesday predicts most Canadian regions will […]

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22 Mar

when is the variable rate going to move?

General

Posted by: Tammy O'Callaghan

Jeremy Torobin Ottawa — From Saturday’s Globe and Mail Published on Friday, Mar. 19, 2010 10:21PM EDT Last updated on Monday, Mar. 22, 2010 6:16AM EDT The clock is ticking on Canada’s record-low borrowing costs, as inflation continues to move at a faster rate than the central bank had expected. The hot reading on inflation […]

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22 Mar

Yields and Fixed Mortgage Rates

General

Posted by: Tammy O'Callaghan

Mortgage rates and the bond market have a nice little marriage; 9+ times out of 10, when bond rates rocket higher, fixed mortgage rates move up too. As seen in the chart below, 5-year fixed rates and bond yields track each other fairly closely over time. In fact, on a monthly basis going back to […]

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18 Mar

When it comes to mortgage details, most people just ‘zone out’

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Posted by: Tammy O'Callaghan

James Pasternak, Financial Post  It is a legal document that stretches about 30 pages and runs about 10,000 words. Its execution takes no more than a couple minutes and when the ink dries on the signature lines, more times than not it is never read and gets slipped into a file folder, largely forgotten. But […]

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18 Mar

High Canadian dollar here to stay, economists say

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Posted by: Tammy O'Callaghan

By The Canadian Press    OTTAWA – The high Canadian dollar appears to be here to stay despite what the Bank of Canada or inflation do to impact the currency. Economists say the loonie, which jumped past 99 cents US on Wednesday, could hit parity at any time. And unlike two years ago when the currency […]

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17 Mar

Flaherty not flinching as loonie nears parity

General

Posted by: Tammy O'Callaghan

Nicolas Van Praet, Financial Post  Montreal — The era of fearing Canada’s high-flying loonie might finally be passed. Trading near US98.6¢, the dollar is now the closest it’s been to one-on-one status with the U.S. greenback since July 2008. And Jim Flaherty, Canada’s finance minister isn’t flinching. “We see where it’s at now and it’s […]

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12 Mar

Understanding house prices

General

Posted by: Tammy O'Callaghan

A home may be one of the biggest investments you ever make. Saving up a down payment is just the first step. Find out more. What factors affect the value of a home? Location: Real estate people always say “Location, location, location.” That’s because the area you live in will be the biggest factor affecting […]

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