The bond rate stayed low and stable all week. Continued concerns over the European Debt situation (now Italy) has kept it extreme low. There have been a few minor rate drops this week. Five year mortgages can be obtained as low as 3.29% (some conditions apply).  

If you have a variable rate of any more than prime +.75 or a fixed rate of 4.50% or more, we should explore the merits of refinancing to a lower rate.

Contact us for a free, no obligation review. Spending a few minutes could save you thousands of dollars. 

Bank prime is at 3.00%

The next meeting of the Bank of Canada is on December 6, 2011.

P.S. If you, your family, or co-workers require guidance on current market trends, please call us, we are always available to help.
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Today’s 3 Year fixed Specials…
30 day… 2.94%, or 2.99% with $750 Cash Back
90 day… 3.04%, or 3.09% with $750 Cash Back

Thank you,

-Cory

Planning ahead to ensure your credit is healthy before applying for a mortgage can translate into a better mortgage rate and products, which can save you significant money throughout the term of your mortgage.

Following are five steps you can use to help attain a speedy credit score boost:

1) Pay down credit cards. The number one way to increase your credit score is to pay down your credit cards. Revolving credit like credit cards seems to have a more significant impact on credit scores than car loans, lines of credit, and so on.

2) Limit the use of credit cards. Racking up a large amount and then paying it off in monthly instalments can hurt your credit score. If there is a balance at the end of the month, this affects your score – credit formulas don’t take into account the fact that you may have paid the balance off the next month.

3) Check credit limits. If your lender is slower at reporting monthly transactions, this can have a significant impact on how other lenders may view your file. Ensure everything’s up to date as old bills that have been paid can come back to haunt you. Your best bet is to pay your balances down or off before your statement periods close.

4) Keep old cards. Older credit is better credit. If you stop using older credit cards, the issuers may stop updating your accounts. As such, the cards can lose their weight in the credit formula and, therefore, may not be as valuable – even though you have had the cards for a long time. You should use these cards periodically and then pay them off.

5) Don’t let mistakes build up. You should always dispute any mistakes or situations that may harm your score. If, for instance, a cell phone bill is incorrect and the company will not amend it, you can dispute this by making the credit bureau aware of the situation.

If you have repeatedly missed payments on your credit cards, you may not be in a situation where refinancing or quick credit repair will be possible. Depending on the severity of your situation – and the reasons behind the delinquencies, including job loss, divorce, illness, and so on – I can help you address the concerns and hopefully avoid credit score damage.

With heightened concerns on possible defaults in Europe, Our bond hit a new low for 2011. So far we have not seen any lender’s drop their fixed rates.

Fixed rates continue to be at record lows.

If you have a variable rate of any more than prime or prime + or a fixed rate of 4.50% or more, we should explore the merits of refinancing to a lower rate. 

Contact us for a free, no obligation review. Spending a few minutes could save you thousands of dollars. 

These low rates are historical lows, making now a great time to buy or refinance.

Bank prime is at 3.00%

The next meeting of the Bank of Canada is on October 25, 2011.

I read a neat article yesterday called The Ant Philosophy by Jim Rohn.  See Below…

I think everybody should study ants.  They have an amazing four-part philosophy.  Here is the first part: ants never quit.  That’s a good philosophy. If they’re headed somewhere and you try to stop them, they’ll look for another way. They’ll climb over, they’ll climb under, they’ll climb around.  They keep looking for another way.  What a neat philosophy, to never quit looking for a way to get where you’re supposed to go.

Second, ants think winter all summer.  That’s an important perspective.  You can’t be so naive as to think summer will last forever.  So ants are gathering their winter food in the middle of the summer.

The third part of the ant philosophy is that ants think summer all winter.  That is so important,  During the winter, ants remind themselves, “This won’t last long- we’ll soon be out of here.”  And the first warm day, the ants are out.  If it turns cold again, they’ll dive back down, but then they come out the first warm day.  They can’t wait to get out.

And here’s the last part of the ant philosophy.  How much will an ant gather during the summer to prepare for the winter?  All he possibly can.  What an incredible philosophy, the “all-you-possibly-can” philosophy.

Wow, what a great philosophy to have – the ant philosophy.  Never give up, look ahead, stay positive and do all you can.

Working consistently and working smart is so important, but it is often very difficult for us humans, as life often throws us curve balls and challenges.   

There was no change in the Bank of Canada rate today. This was largely expected.

They spoke of the following changes in their previous projections.

“Increase in the European sovereign debt crisis”.
“The U.S. recession was deeper and recovery shallower than previously reported”
“Canadian economic growth stalled in the second quarter”.
“The Bank expects the total CPI inflation to continue to moderate”.
Of most importance they say “in light of slowing global economic momentum and heightened financial uncertainty, the need to withdraw monetary policy stimulus has diminished”.

In summary, no upward changes expected for now in the prime rate. I would not be surprised to see a rate drop if the global situation does not change.

At this point variable rate mortgages remain an extremely attractive option for those with the toleration for risk. We would strongly recommend that you read the full report from the bank of Canada.

The next Bank of Canada Announcement is scheduled for October 25, 2011 

Bank prime is 3.00%

P.S. If you have any questions as to what this means to your mortgage, we are always here to help you with unbiased advice.

World markets continued to focus on the looming U.S. debt deadline. Bond prices continued to stay near lows for 2011. There were no changes in fixed or variable interest rates. 

If you have a variable rate of any more than prime or prime + or a fixed rate of 4.75% or more, we should explore the merits of refinancing to a lower rate. Contact us for a free, no obligation review. Spending a few minutes could save you thousands of dollars.  

These low rates are still close to historical lows, making now a great time to buy or refinance.    

• As was highly expected, the Bank of Canada (hereafter referred to as “the Bank”) held its benchmark overnight rate at 1.00% today; this rate has now been at this level since September 2010.
• In staying put, the Bank concluded that while the global economic recovery was indeed forging ahead, risks continue to linger in the background.  Examples of such risks referenced in the communiqué include: (1) elevated commodity prices over the near term; (2) the European sovereign debt crisis that has seen volatility in financial markets of late; and (3) building inflationary pressures in emerging markets.
• The Bank also points to moderate economic growth recorded south of the border so far this year.  Going forward, it expects such a pace to continue over the near term.  The same modest showing is anticipated for the Europe region as many countries impose fiscal austerity measures.  
• Here at home, the Bank expects a subdued economic performance over the next few years.  The rotation in growth drivers from government and consumers to exporters and business investment has taken longer than the Bank originally anticipated.  Looking to the second half of the year, growth is expected to accelerate.  More precisely, the Bank’s forecasts in household spending have been ratcheted up, but export growth has been inched down.  All told, the Bank projects growth of 2.8% in 2011, 2.6% in 2012 and 2.1% in 2013, with the national economy returning to full capacity by mid-2012. 
• The communiqué acknowledges that monetary stimulus must be withdrawn.  This time around, the term “eventually” was dropped before “withdrawn”, signaling that it is a matter of time before the Bank begins increasing its benchmark target.   

Key Implications

• At the beginning of the year, many private sector forecasters including us had expected the Bank to resume hiking its overnight rate this month.  However, global fiscal risks are heightened and economic growth in the U.S. has been sub-par to date.  With this in mind, we recently changed our call to January 2012.  Today’s communiqué confirms that monetary stimulus will soon come to an end.  Still, the timing of such withdrawal must be judged in context with global economic developments, how the domestic economy plays out, and any underlying risks. 
• The global risks on the radar cited are largely unchanged from the Bank’s last communiqué.  However, these same concerns continue to be front and centre when assessing how the global economic recovery will unfold.
• While more details will be released in tomorrow’s Monetary Policy Report, the Bank’s economic growth forecasts match those included in our June Quarterly Economic Forecast.
• Our January 2012 interest rate call will help avoid interest rate spreads from growing between the U.S. and Canada.  Timing the two dates close to one another should help keep a lid on the Canadian dollar over 2011-12.  Yet, we expect it to continue to hover near parity over this period.
• Consistent with our own views, headline inflation is expected to be near 3% over the next little while.  Higher commodity, food and energy prices on tap should underpin such a showing.  Core CPI, on the other hand, is poised to be more muted and should come in near 2%, well within the Bank’s inflation target range.

As expected the Bank of Canada kept its overnight rate at the same level. They did however comment on the strong possibility of future rate increases based on global and Canadian inflationary pressures. These pressures are being largely driven by higher energy and food prices.

The Bank of Canada is projecting core inflation returning to the two percent target level in the foreseeable future. If that happens, the Bank of Canada has made it clear they will be withdrawing some of their financial stimulus which will result in a higher bank prime. We can expect this to happen in the next six to twelve months. The overall report is cautionary due to the containment of the global debt crises and the soft U.S economy.

At this point variable rate mortgages remain an extremely attractive option for those with the toleration for risk.

The next Bank of Canada Announcement is scheduled for September 7, 2011 

Bank prime is 3.0%

P.S. If you have any questions as to what this means to your mortgage, we are always here to help you with unbiased advice.