New App Release April 2023 – Introducing the New Required Income Calculator. Find out how much income is required for any size mortgage. What's New New Required Income Calculator Calculate how much income is required for any size mortgage. Stress Tested Automatically decides the Mortgage Qualifying Rate (MQR). based on the B20 Guidelines. Further refine the results by adding property expenses like property taxes, heating costs and condo fees. Property Expense Estimation To make it easier to estimate property expenses, we have designed a new tool to help you. Simply en ..read more

Looking at the Possible New Mortgage Rules on the Way Canada’s banking regular OSFI is proposing new mortgage rules to protect Canadians further. Let’s look at them and how they may affect you. Loan-to-income (LTI) and debt-to-income (DTI) limits If a loan-to-income or debt-to-income limit were introduced, this would limit how much Canadians can borrow as a percent or multiplier of their household income. There is no such measurement currently, but OSFI wants to make one.  OSFI says that a loan-to-income ratio of 450% is too high and is concerned that this figure has risen si ..read more

New Release Our first release of 2023 starts with a healthy list of updates. We hope you enjoy them. What's New More Accuracy All rates on the app now show up to 3 decimal places; the difference can sometimes be more than a dollar in payments. It may not be a big deal for the average mortgagee but pretty important in the fintech world. New Menu in the Mortgage Calculator Tap on the menu in the result header and see the various options, like changing payment frequency, loan type, rate type, term and compounding. Connecting with an Advisor When submitting a request for a rate ..read more

Real Estate Predictions for 2023 With a new year, it’s always fun to make predictions. Here are some real estate-related predictions for 2023. Home Prices and Sales There’s no denying that 2022 was a challenging year for home prices and sales. Interest rates moving up at their fastest pace in 30 years probably had something to do with it. The predictions are out. Expect 2023 to be a better year, with rates not expected to head much higher, although don’t expect home prices to recover to where they were at the beginning of 2022. Home prices will remain flat or sink further, dependi ..read more

The Top Real Estate Stories of 2022 2022 was quite an eventful year. We saw the prime rate go up 4% and home prices tumble. Let’s look at the top real estate stories of the year. Interest Rates Arguably the biggest story in 2022 was interest rates. In January, the Bank of Canada decided to forgo an expected interest rate increase due to Omicron. Little did we know that we would see interest rates go up at their fastest pace in 30 years. We have seen our central bank increase interest rates seven consecutive times. The prime rate went up by 4% in 2022! This has resulted in the mort ..read more

The Mortgage Stress Test with the Canadian Mortgage App Canada’s banking regular OSFI (Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions) confirmed in December 2022 that it would leave the mortgage stress test unchanged. Let’s look at what that means and other changes coming down the pipeline. The Mortgage Stress Test If you have bought a home in recent years, you should know the mortgage stress test. It’s a test to keep Canadians from overextending themselves when buying a home. The stress test was introduced several years ago. Under the stress test, you must qualify at the ..read more

Property Taxes with the Canadian Mortgage App Nobody enjoys paying taxes, but they’re a necessity of life. In this article, we’ll look at property taxes: what they are, how they are determined and how you can pay your property taxes. What are Property Taxes? Property taxes are a levy to do with the tax-assessed value of your property. The word “levy” sounds a lot like “lien.” Both start with the letter L and are easy to confuse. Understanding the difference between the two is essential because they aren’t the same. A levy seizes your property if you fail to pay your tax ..read more

Calculate Non-Resident Speculation Tax with the Canadian Mortgage App In this article, we’ll look at the foreign buyer’s tax and who it applies to and run through an example together to see how much it might amount to. What is a Foreign Buyer? Are you not born in Canada, and you’re wondering if you’re considered a foreign buyer? A foreign buyer is typically someone who isn’t a resident of Canada or a Canadian citizen. Someone who lacks permanent ties to Canada. Suppose you don’t fit into this category; there is no need to fret. You may still be exempt from the foreign buyer’s ..read more

Closing Costs with the Canadian Mortgage App Are you looking to buy a home? Then you’ll want to budget for closing costs. Let’s look at closing costs, how much you should budget for them and how the Canadian Mortgage App can help. What are Closing Costs and How Much? Closing costs are the extra costs associated with buying and selling a property. Also referred to as transaction costs, these are the one-time expenses you must pay if you want to reap the rewards of being a property owner. Closing costs are in addition to your deposit and down payment. Lenders typically want to see t ..read more

Mortgage Pre-Approval Rate Hold with the Canadian Mortgage App Are you seriously considering buying a home? Then you’ll want to get a mortgage pre-approval rate hold. In this article, we’ll look at a mortgage pre-approval and how a rate hold can help you in your home search. What is a Mortgage Pre-Approval? Are you looking to buy a home? Then you’ll want to make sure you get pre-approval before you start shopping. A mortgage pre-approval lets you know how much you can afford to spend on a home. It looks at your essential details, including your income, down payment, credit, debts ..read more