CMHC defends mortgage stress test
The buying and selling of houses in Canada is in the middle of a political tug of war between the government and industry participants. Over the past decade the residential real estate market was red hot. Particularly in Toronto and Vancouver. The main reason was affordability. With historically low interest rates more people were able […]
Young adult children living at home longer
Why do young adult children still live at home? Their parents often recall how they left home at an early age and now seem somewhat perplexed at why this is no longer the case. Has this generation become soft and unable to survive on their own in the real world? According to the 2016 census, […]
Bank of Canada warns on record household debt levels
Does your out-of-control increasing debt keep you awake at night? It should. The governor of the Bank of Canada, Stephen Poloz, is concerned about soaring home prices and the increasingly high amount of household debt Canadians are accumulating. He says it keeps him awake at night. Debt can be your friend right up until the […]
Canada’s greying population gives rise to financial challenges
Canadians are living longer. This could have implications on how individuals manage their finances. The 2016 census data from statistics Canada was released in May, 2017. For the first time in the survey’s history, seniors outnumber children. Seniors, aged 65 and over, account for 16.9 per cent of Canada’s population, just slightly larger than the […]
The dream of home ownership could turn nightmarish
The sad reality of this crazy booming real estate market we have seen in Oakville recently, could end up hurting people. That financial pain could be felt for decades. One of the characteristics of owning a house is that mortgages are often much larger than the down payment. Financial leverage is a wonderful thing when […]
The financial and human sides to soaring house prices
A hot topic of conversation these days is real estate. Specifically, the exorbitantly high prices of houses in Oakville and other communities in the GTA. According to the April 4 numbers released by the Oakville, Milton and District Real Estate Board, Oakville’s median residential sale price for the month of March increased by 44.77 per […]
B.C.’s no-interest down payment loans and financial reality
Politics and good financial judgment are often at odds. An example of this has just happened in British Columbia. It has to do with the Canadian dream of home ownership. Many perspective home buyers across our land are wondering if they should take the plunge and commit themselves to a huge amount of mortgage debt. […]
The housing market: home sweet home or house of cards?
Is real estate a ticking time bomb? Is your house overvalued? The only people who are not afraid of the rapidly escalating house prices in Canada are those who own them and those who line up to pay record-breaking prices. The Canadian dream of homeownership is alive and well. However, many organizations or government bodies […]
Bank of Canada warns your house may be overvalued
Your house could be worth 30 per cent less than you think. That was Canada’s central bank warning. Stephen Poloz, the Governor of the Bank of Canada, released the latest research in early December warning Canadians that their homes are overvalued by 10 to 30 per cent. We have had similar warnings before from the […]
