Canadian Home Buyers Savvy and Optimistic

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) 2009 Mortgage Consumer Survey results were released last week, and indicate that nearly 90% of recent home purchasers across the country believe that home ownership is a good long-term investment and that almost 70% think that now is a good time to purchase a home in their community.

Buyers are knowledgeable about the mortgage process and their lender’s assessment of eligibility. For example, 86% are of the view that the level of total housing and other monthly payments should generally not exceed 40% of gross household income, which is in line with generally accepted mortgage lending practices.

Recent buyers are prudent mortgage managers.
According to the survey, 75% of purchasers have a goal to be mortgage free sooner than their original amortization. In fact, 20% of recent purchasers report having made a lump sum payment to their mortgage. Read more

Interest rate cut will help Canadian home owners and buyers

The interest rate cut announced today by the Bank of Canada will help Canadian home owners and buyers, according to The Canadian Real Estate Association. The Bank of Canada cut its benchmark overnight lending rate by one-half of one percentage point to 3 1/2 per cent on March 4th, and signaled further cuts in the near future. The trend-setting Bank rate, which is set 0.25 percentage points above the overnight lending rate, now stands at 3.75 per cent.

“The threat of inflation is being eclipsed by concerns about slower economic growth, so the Bank of Canada cut its trend-setting bank rate to boost growth,” said CREA Chief Economist Gregory Klump. “Financial market turmoil will remain a downside risk to growth for some time. This means the Bank will probably continue lowering interest rates.”

Lower lending rates will help offset the effect of tightening credit conditions and allow homeowners to obtain better mortgage terms. This will also benefit Canadian homeowners dealing with variable rate mortgages. Read more