In a world with an abundance of options, it can be hard to know which way to turn to ensure that you make the best decision for your future. Fortunately, a mortgage broker can help! With access to over 200 lending institutions including big banks, credit unions and trust companies, mortgage professionals like myself are familiar with a vast array of available mortgage products.

From first-time homebuyer programs to financing for the self-employed or those with credit blemishes, I can help find the best mortgage for you – no matter what stage of life you are in!

A Mortgage Broker Saves Time: One of the biggest benefits to using a mortgage broker is that they are a one-stop-shop that not only saves you time, but can save you money too. Mortgage brokers are experts in mortgages and are able to contact all lenders, from the big 5 banks to credit unions and even alternative options (if required). This means that YOU only need to fill out one application and your broker will do all the heavy lifting in order to present you with the best options for your budget so you can make the final decision!

A Mortgage Broker Can Often Find a Lower Rate: When it comes to mortgages, not all lenders are created equal. Not only do different banks offer different rates depending on the mortgage conditions, but banks can only see their own rates. For you to be able to get accurate quotes, you would need to have multiple meetings – one with each bank or lender – to get their mortgage rate and terms. A mortgage broker has access to all of the different lenders and their connections can often result in a lower mortgage rate and better plan for you and your family.

A Mortgage Broker Offers Unbiased Advice: Mortgage brokers typically work with dozens of lenders and rely on client satisfaction and referrals to keep their business running. Unlike banks focused on signing you for profit reasons, a mortgage broker is a third-party service who gets paid no matter which bank they sign you with. This means they can provide the best rate AND unbiased advice because they are focused on helping you achieve your dream.

A Mortgage Broker Service is (Mostly) No Cost: In most cases, using the services of a mortgage broker comes at no cost to the homeowner or home buyer. A mortgage broker instead receives compensation directly from the lender. The only time you might have to pay is when working with a private lender or a lender that refuses to pay brokerage fees – which a mortgage broker would tell you about in advance.

A Mortgage Broker Protects Your Credit Score: Not only does it take a great deal of time to apply at dozens of lenders yourself, but it can also lead to a lower credit score. Each time you apply at a lender, they have to do a “hard credit check”. Unfortunately, too many credit checks in a short period of time can lower your credit score. The benefit of a mortgage broker is that they typically only need to pull your credit score once to apply to various lenders, which protects your hard work.

If you are looking to purchase your first home, or a new home, in the coming months, I would love to offer my advice and expertise to ensure you get the best mortgage product for YOU. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to book a virtual appointment with me at your earliest convenience!

Today’s release of September housing data by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) shows national home sales rose 0.9% on a month-over-month (m-o-m). This continues the rebound in housing that began five months ago amid record-tight market conditions.

“Along with historic supply shortages in a number of regions, fierce competition among buyers has been putting upward pressure on home prices. Much of that was pent-up demand from the spring that came forward as our economies opened back up over the summer,” said Costa Poulopoulos, Chair of CREA.

According to Shaun Cathcart, CREA’s Senior Economist, “Reasons have been cited for this – pent-up demand from the lockdowns, Government support to date, ultra-low interest rates, and the composition of job losses to name a few. I would also remind everyone that sales were almost setting records and markets were almost this tight back in February so we were already close to where things are now, as far away from Goldilocks territory as we had ever been before. But I think another wildcard factor to consider, which has no historical precedent, is the value of one’s home during this time. Home has been our workplace, our kids’ schools, the gym, the park and more. Personal space is more important than ever.”

The modest uptick in home sales nationally reflected diverse results regionally with about 60% of local markets seeing gains. Increases in Ottawa, Greater Vancouver, Vancouver Island, Calgary and Hamilton-Burlington sales were mostly offset by declines in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and Montreal; although, activity in the two largest Canadian markets is still historically very strong.

Actual (not seasonally adjusted) sales activity posted a 45.6% y-o-y gain in September. It was a new record for the month of September by a margin of  20,000 transactions, the equivalent of a normal month of September with an entire month of December tacked on. Sales activity was up in almost all Canadian housing markets on a year-over-year basis.

New Listings

The number of newly listed homes declined by 10.2% in September, reversing the surge to record levels seen August. New supply was down in two-thirds of local markets, led by declines in and around Vancouver and the GTA.

With sales edging up in September and new supply dropping back, the national sales-to-new listings ratio tightened to 77.2% – the highest in almost 20 years and the third-highest monthly level on record for the measure.

Based on a comparison of sales-to-new listings ratio with long-term averages, about a third of all local markets were in balanced market territory, measured as being within one standard deviation of their long-term average. The other two-thirds of markets were above long-term norms, in many cases well above.
There were just 2.6 months of inventory on a national basis at the end of September 2020 – the lowest reading on record for this measure. At the local market level, a number of Ontario markets are now into weeks of inventory rather than months. Much of the province of Ontario is close to or under one month of inventory.

Home Prices

The Aggregate Composite MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI) rose by 1.3% m-o-m in September 2020. Of the 39 markets now tracked by the index, all but two were up between August and September.

As buyers are moving further away from city centres, CREA added a large number of Ontario markets to the MLS® HPI this month. The list includes Bancroft and Area, Brantford Region, Cambridge, Grey Bruce Owen Sound, Huron Perth, Kawartha Lakes, Kitchener-Waterloo, the Lakelands (Muskoka-Haliburton-Orillia-Parry Sound), London & St. Thomas, Mississauga, North Bay, Northumberland Hills, Peterborough and the Kawarthas, Quinte & District, Simcoe & District, Southern Georgian Bay, Tillsonburg District and Woodstock-Ingersoll.

The non-seasonally adjusted Aggregate Composite MLS® HPI was up 10.3% on a y-o-y basis in September – the biggest gain since August 2017. The largest y-o-y gains in the 22-23% range were recorded in Bancroft and Area, Quinte & District, Ottawa and Woodstock-Ingersoll.

This was followed by y-o-y price gains in the range of 15-20% in Barrie, Hamilton, Niagara, Guelph, Brantford, Cambridge, Grey Bruce-Owen Sound, Huron Perth, the Lakelands, London & St. Thomas, North Bay, Simcoe & District, Southern Georgian Bay, Tillsonburg District and Montreal.

Prices were up in the 10-15% range compared to last September in the GTA, Oakville-Milton, Kawartha Lakes, Kitchener-Waterloo, Mississauga, Northumberland Hills, Peterborough and the Kawarthas, and Greater Moncton.

Meanwhile, y-o-y price gains were around 5% in Greater Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, the Okanagan Valley, Regina, Saskatoon and Quebec City. Gains were about half that in Victoria and elsewhere on Vancouver Island, as well and in St. John’s, and prices were more or less flat y-o-y in Calgary and Edmonton.

The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average home price set another record in September 2020, topping the $600,000 mark for the first time ever at more than $604,000. This was up 17.5% from the same month last year.

Bottom Line

Housing strength is largely attributable to record-low mortgage rates and pent-up demand by households that have maintained their level of income during the pandemic. The hardest-hit households are low-wage earners in the accommodation, food services, and travel sectors. These are the folks that can least afford it and typically are not homeowners.

The good news is that the housing market is contributing to the recovery in economic activity

Reported by Dr. Sherry Cooper, Chief Economist, Dominion Lending Centres