Blog

  1. New Rules for Filing Your 2022 Return

    The deadline for filing your income tax and benefit return is May 1, 2023 this year, as April 30 falls on a Sunday. According to the CRA, “your return will be considered filed on time if the CRA receives it or it is postmarked on or before May 1, 2023. Similarly, your payment will be […]

  2. Renewing your mortgage in 2023? We need to talk.

    Over 1 million mortgages in Canada are up for renewal in 2023, according to CMHC. If you are in this group, my advice is… talk to your Invis or Mortgage Intelligence broker early! In their effort to avoid a recession in the second half of 2023 and achieve the fabled economic “soft landing”, while attempting […]

  3. Does homeownership offer more benefits than renting?

    Many Millennials (27 to 42 years old) and Gen Zs (up to 26 years old) have convinced themselves that renting is a better lifestyle choice than homeownership. And why not? Renting offers certain advantages such as flexibility and predictability, and studies have shown that after 30 years, a prudent renter could be just as well […]

  4. Bank of Canada raises its overnight rate to 4.5% today

    With the unemployment rate at 5% in Canada and inflation at 6.3%, the Bank of Canada did not hesitate to raise the overnight rate today by a quarter percentage to 4.5%. In a recent interview, Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said that 2023 will be “a tough year, tougher than […]

  5. Proceed with caution when giving your kids a boost to home ownership 

    A little while ago, I posted a blog titled “Helpful tips for first-time home buyers and their parents in a rising rate environment”. In it, I discussed well-meaning parents who gifted or loaned money to their children to help them with a down payment for a home and issued some stark warnings: Parents: Millennials and Gen Zs: Recent data […]

  6. Bank of Canada raises the key interest rate to 4.25%

    The Bank of Canada has raised its policy rate to 4.25% today, stating borrowing costs need to rise to bring inflation back to target of 2% from the current rate of 6.9%. This marks the seventh consecutive rate increase in 2022. “We’re expecting roughly zero growth (in the Canadian economy) for the next several quarters […]

  7. Is it smarter to invest in the stock market right now or pay down your mortgage? 

    With the recent Bank of Canada overnight rate increase to 3.75%, mortgage rates are anywhere at 6 to 7 per cent if renewing, and the TSX index is down substantially and typically will move even lower with more interest rate hikes and a looming recession.  So, the big question for many homeowners is: Do you […]

  8. Bank of Canada raises the key interest rate by half a percentage point, bringing it to 3.75%

    The Bank of Canada has raised its policy rate to 3.75%, stating borrowing costs need to rise to bring inflation back to target of 2% from the current rate of 6.9%. “We actually need to see some cooling in the labour market,” Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said this month. “Right now, it’s overheated. That’s also generating domestic price […]

  9. Don’t just shop for a mortgage rate!  There are so many things that matter other than just rates! 

    Choose a Mortgage Intelligence mortgage broker to offer you much more such as: After reading the above you should be asking yourself: I need help choosing the best mortgage for my real estate transaction as the mortgage selection and other considerations are complex. Reach out to our offices today for some assistance – remember its […]

  10. Planning the next move – whether in real estate or other investments

    Canadian TSX and real estate prices have dropped substantially in value in the first three quarters of 2022. American indexes fell into bear-market territory earlier this year, some shedding more than 25 per cent of their value Meanwhile, inflation, currently at 7.0%, has been putting the squeeze on our budgets, and the Bank of Canada just […]