Insured 100% financing programs are no longer available in Canada. There are still insured 95% financing and 5% cash-back programs. Depending on the lender, that 5% cash back may be used as your down payment. However, you must be prepared to pay a higher rate, and you’d better have clean credit, Beacon score over 620, verifiable income and steady employment.
There are no longer any non-conforming institutional lenders who will go up to 100%.
A word of advice: Know your own real estate market and your own circumstances. If house prices where you are planning to buy are anticipated to drop in value, say up to 5 or 10%, do you really want to buy with only 5 or 10% down, even if the long range real estate value is likely to be up?
Some of you, like me, may be pleased to note that the 5-year Canada Government Bond closed at 2.495% earlier this afternoon, an increase of 3.02%. In fact bond yields have been rising since mid-October, when the second round of quantitative easing (QE2 – No Virginia, that is not a ship) was implemented by the US Fed. [...]
Rising Yields is a Good Sign
Buying or selling a house is a big deal. Most people thus seek expert advice and assistance. That advice comes mainly from real estate agents, who are represented by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). Until now, however, the system has been designed to serve agents, and the brokers who employ them, at the expense [...]
CREA fought tooth and nail to keep its tight grip on fees
Today, the Scotia Bank released its latest Economic Special Report. See below. It’s worth a read. However, I think the report is unduly optimistic. Read between the lines in the section on Households. I am not that reassured. I think Canadian households will have to continue to trim back in order to handle interest rates [...]
There is understandable concern about the rapid rise in borrowing