Mortgage Brokers
A broker acts as a go-between for a buyer and a lender. All the details involved in home buying, particularly the financial ones, can be mind-boggling. A qualified professional can guide you through the entire process and make the experience much easier. A mortgage broker is well-acquainted with several different financial institutions which allow him to offer you more choices and more competitive rates. The mortgage broker works for you, not the financial institution, and gets paid by the financial institution, not by you.
Pre-Approval Process With interest rates fluctuating, it is important to go through the pre-approval process. The pre-approval will lock-in your interest rate for 120 days and it is a relatively easy and hassle-free procedure. In the spring market, rates will fluctuate more frequently as it is the busiest time of the year for the real estate industry. Remember to get pre-approved so that you put more money in your pocket instead of the banks'. They say that spring is a time for new beginnings, so take a moment to consider your new home purchase.
Short- or Long-Term Mortgages? The age-old question...
Deciding whether to go with a short term or long term mortgage is a question that many buyers struggle with when it comes time to purchase a home. It actually becomes more of a psychological issue than a logical one. 'Will I be able to sleep at night?' A fixed term mortgage can be considered a type of insurance — the longer you lock the mortgage rate in for, the more of a premium you are going to pay. It becomes a risk-versus-reward scenario. If you can accept certain degrees of risk, then your savings are increased.
Historically it has been shown that by choosing a short term or variable rate mortgage that you could save a substantial amount of interest over the life of your mortgage. Variable rate mortgages are based on the banks prime-lending rate which is directly related to the Bank of Canada rate — when the Bank of Canada rates change, the prime rate changes. Over the past 40 years, if you took a 5 year mortgage and compared it with short term mortgages, ninety percent of the time a short term mortgage would have saved you more interest.
As your Mortgage Solution Team Agents, it is important for us to understand your economic situation. Are you a first time buyer? How much of a down payment do you have? Do you have solid employment in the near future, or a rising income? There are many factors to look at when you are deciding what type of mortgage product to go with.
Housing Starts Rebound in January
OTTAWA, February 8, 2008 — The seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of housing starts was 222,700 units in January, up from 184,700 units in December, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
“Historically low mortgage rates, solid employment and income growth as well as a high level of consumer confidence continue to underpin the high level of housing starts”, said Bob Dugan, Chief Economist at CMHC’s Market Analysis Centre. “Housing starts in January returned to a level more consistent with our expectation that housing starts will total 211,700 units in 2008, remaining above the 200,000 mark for the seventh consecutive year.”
In January the seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts increased 25.2 per cent to 189,500 units compared to December. Urban multiples surged 64.1 per cent to 108,000 units in January, while singles fell 4.8 per cent to 81,500 units.
The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts increased in four of Canada’s five regions in January. Urban starts registered an increase of 43.7 per cent in Ontario, 22.4 per cent in Quebec, 19.4 per cent in the Prairies and 17.5 per cent in British Columbia. The Atlantic region bucked the trend and registered a decline of 17.4 per cent in January. Urban multiple starts were up in all regions except in the Atlantic. Urban singles were down in all regions except Quebec and Ontario.
Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 33,200 units in January.
Actual starts in rural and urban areas combined, decreased by an estimated 11.1 per cent in January 2008 compared to January 2007. In urban areas, actual total starts decreased by an estimated 11.5 per cent. Actual urban single starts for January 2008 were down 15.7 per cent compared to January 2007, while multiple starts fell an estimated 8.9 per cent over the same time period.
1. All starts figures in this release, other than actual starts, are seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) — that is, monthly figures adjusted to remove normal seasonal variation and multiplied by 12 to reflect annual levels.
As Canada’s national housing agency, CMHC draws on over 60 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of quality, environmentally sustainable, and affordable homes — homes that will continue to create vibrant and healthy communities and cities across the country.
Housing Starts, Actual and SAAR*
Actual
SAAR
January
2007
January
2008
December
2007
January
2008
Final
Preliminary
Final
Preliminary
Canada, all areas
15,327
13,621
184,700
222,700
Canada, rural areas
1,744
1,598
33,300
33,200
Canada, urban centres**
13,583
12,023
151,400
189,500
Canada, singles, urban centres
5,222
4,402
85,600
81,500
Canada, multiples, urban centres
8,361
7,621
65,800
108,000
Atlantic region, urban centres
503
361
8,600
7,100
Quebec, urban centres
2,334
2,353
33,100
40,500
Ontario, urban centres
4,493
4,190
47,100
67,700
Prairie region, urban centres
3,715
2,777
34,000
40,600
British Columbia, urban centres
2,538
2,342
28,600
33,600
Source: CMHC
*Seasonally adjusted annual rates
**Urban centres with a population of 10,000 and over.
Detailed data available upon request.
