Important Announceme​nt - Mortgage Rule Change

At 8:15am this morning Mr Flaherty made the attached announcement so please read this as you are likely to get questions about it today. These changes only impact insured mortgages at this time and the next few days we will hear more but this takes effect July 9, 2012 so only a few short weeks away. 1 Max Amortization down to 25 years not 30 2 Refinance to 80% not 85% 3 GDS Max 39% and TDS 44% (not 44/44) 4 No default insurance above $1mil. Click to Read More

The 10-year Versus 5-year Mortgage: Which is Better?

Mortgage debates used to centre around whether to go fixed or variable but the discussion these days is not whether to lock in a rate but for how long? Variable rate mortgages have slumped in popularity over the last few months as discounts off of the 3% prime rate are either shrinking or disappearing. At the same time, financial institutions have dropped rates to as low as 2.99% for terms as long as four or five years. But there is a new entrant to the marketplace — the 10-year mortgage. The Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals says 10-year mortgages are about 1% of the marketplace but that may change as rates for the decade-long term have dropped to an all-time low with some lenders said to be offering an interest rate of 3.84%.

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