Bank of Canada Increases the Overnight Lending Rate to 0.5% The Bank of Canada today increased its target for the overnight rate to ½ %, with the Bank Rate at ¾ % and the deposit rate at ½ %. The Bank is continuing its reinvestment phase, keeping its overall holdings of Government of Canada bonds on its balance sheet roughly constant until such time as it becomes appropriate to allow the size of its balance sheet to decline. The unprovoked invasion... [read more]

Ottawa unveils new mortgage stress test rules that will make it easier to pass On February 18, Minister of Finance Bill Morneau announced changes to the benchmark rate used to determine the minimum qualifying rate for insured mortgages, also known as the stress test. The new minimum qualifying rate will be the weekly median five-year fixed insured mortgage rate from mortgage insurance applications, plus two percentage points. TRREB has long called for adjustments to the... [read more]

Bank of Canada maintains target for the overnight rate The Bank of Canada today maintained its target for the overnight rate at the effective lower bound of ¼ percent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly ½ percent and the deposit rate is ¼ percent. Incoming data confirm the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy. This impact appears to have peaked, although uncertainty about how the recovery will unfold remains high. Massive policy responses in... [read more]

CMHC Tightens Mortgage Insurance Rules Starting July 1 The government-backed Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp said on Thursday it would tighten rules for offering mortgage insurance from July 1, 2020. The move would make it harder for riskier borrowers, who offer downpayments of less than 20 per cent to access CMHC's default mortgage insurance. CMHC is establishing a minimum credit score of 680 instead of the current 600, the group said in an emailed statement. It will... [read more]

Lowest mortgage Rates in History: What It Means for Homeowners and Buyers   The interest rate on Canada’s most popular mortgage, the five-year fixed rate, has fallen to its lowest level in history. In early June, HSBC made headlines when it began offering Canadians a five-year fixed-rate mortgage below 2%. Multiple brokers followed suit, and some are now advertising even lower rates.1 And while many Canadians have rushed to take advantage of this unprecedented opportunity,... [read more]