Bought Your First Home? Here are Some Tips for You

General Mitchell Goode 26 Oct

Bought Your First Home? Here are Some Tips for You.

Buying a home is an exciting time in your life.  It’s a monumental occasion, and you should celebrate and enjoy every moment of the experience. But at the same time, there are a lot of new stresses you’ll discover. From trying to find the right space, to bidding and financing, the whole experience is a roller-coaster ride. Once you gain possession of the property, you’re about to start on a whole new adventure as a homeowner.

Homeownership is accompanied by a new world of stresses and anxieties. As soon as you move in, you’ll no doubt discover things that aren’t working right or aren’t as you anticipated.  It’s a learning experience as you try to tackle the issues, sometimes an expensive experience at that.

Let’s take a look at some of the issues you might encounter and what you can do about them.

BUT FIRST, THE VALUE OF A PROPERTY INSPECTION

Before we dive into details, it’s worth noting the importance and value of a property inspection. In this competitive real estate market, it’s not always possible to get a property inspection performed before you buy a home. If you’re unable to, it’s still worth doing after the fact as a good inspection can draw attention to issues that need immediate attention, issues that you might not have noticed before.

The cost of an inspection will depend on the size of your property. While this may seem like an unnecessary expense at the time, it can help save you money in the long run.

TEN COMMON ISSUES

According to the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors, here are the ten most common issues reported by inspectors:

  1. Poor drainage/surface grading can lead to water infiltrating basements and crawlspaces.
  2. Incorrect electrical work that can include insufficient protection against overload, dangerous wiring, and not enough service to the house.
  3. Damage to the roof, such as damaged and old shingles that can lead to leaky roofs.
  4. Heating system issues like blocked chimneys, damaged equipment, and broken controls.
  5. Poor home maintenance, which is a broad area, but includes amateur wiring, poor plumbing, damage to the masonry, etc.
  6. Structural problems like windows and doors, the foundation, and joists that can all suffer significant damage.
  7. Plumbing fixtures not working properly, poor waste lines, and old and broken piping that can all lead to major problems.
  8. Exterior issues like poor weather-stripping and caulking, or old windows and doors, that can all affect the integrity of a home.
  9. Bad ventilation that may result in issues such as excessive moisture, which can rot or damage materials throughout the home.
  10. Miscellaneous things, usually cosmetic, that are identified by home inspectors.

The site also highlights how, in four of the top ten issues reported, water infiltration was a factor.  For this reason, it’s important to pay particular attention to signs of water damage and leaks throughout your house. Homes are a lot of work, and it’s easy to cut corners on things like clearing pipes and maintaining the seals around windows.

HOME RENOS AND PERMITS

Wherever you live, each province and municipality has their own set of rules for what permits you require when performing home renovations.  In Ontario, for example, the government requires you have a building permit when you do one of the following:

  • Construct or place a building on your property that is over 10 square metres in area. This applies to motor homes, garden sheds, and other structures.
  • Add to your residence, renovate, or make repairs.
  • Change what your building is used for.
  • Construct or dig up a foundation.
  • Build a seasonal building.
  • Perform work on the on-site sewage system, including installation, extension, repairs, and alteration.

Looking at this, it all feels a little broad, and that if you are to do any kind of work on your home you’ll need a permit. This isn’t the case. Each municipality has specific guidelines for when you require a permit. Continuing with the example of Ontario, the city of Toronto provides detailed information on their website of when you do and do not require a permit.

To be safe, make sure you contact your municipality before planning renovations.

Pro tip: Building permits take time to be reviewed and issued, so start early if you’re planning on renovations. There are also fees associated with permits, so be sure to account for this in your budget.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Becoming a homeowner is exciting and should be celebrated. But it’s also a big responsibility, and there are a lot of things to juggle when you purchase a space. Even with a home inspection, you will undoubtedly encounter unexpected issues with your home as you start to live in it. Making sure you’re aware of any potential issues and keeping on top of your home maintenance will take you a long way!

 

Article From: https://dominionlending.ca/sponsored/bought-your-first-home-here-are-some-tips-for-you

 

Canadian Inflation Rises Once Again

General Mitchell Goode 20 Oct

Prices are Rising Everywhere–Transitory Can Last A Long Time
Today’s release of the September Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Canada showed year-over-year (y/y) inflation rising from 4.1% in August to 4.4%, its highest level since February 2003. Excluding gasoline, the CPI rose 3.5% y/y last month.

The monthly CPI rose 0.2% in September, at the same pace as in the prior month. Month-over-month CPI growth has been positive for nine consecutive months.

Today’s inflation is a global phenomenon–prices are rising everywhere, primarily due to the interplay between global supply disruptions and extreme weather conditions. Inflation in the US is the highest in the G7 (see chart below). The economy there rebounded earlier than elsewhere in the wake of easier Covid restrictions and more significant markups.

Central banks generally agree that the surge in inflation above the 2% target levels is transitory, but all now recognize that transitory can last a long time. Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem acknowledged that supply chain disruptions are “dragging on” and said last week high inflation readings could “take a little longer to come back down.”
Prices rose y/y in every major category in September, with transportation prices (+9.1%) contributing the most to the all-items increase. Higher shelter (+4.8%) and food prices (+3.9%) also contributed to the growth in the all-items CPI for September.Prices at the gas pump rose 32.8% compared with September last year. The contributors to the year-over-year gain include lower price levels in 2020 and reduced crude output by major oil-producing countries compared with pre-pandemic levels.

Gasoline prices fell 0.1% month over month in September, as uncertainty about global oil demand continued following the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant (see charts below).
Bottom Line

Today’s CPI release was the last significant economic indicator before the Bank of Canada meeting next Wednesday, October 27. While no one expects the Bank of Canada to hike overnight rates next week, market-driven interest rates are up sharply (see charts below). Fixed mortgage rates are edging higher with the rise in 5-year Government of Canada bond yields. The right-hand chart below shows the yield curve today compared to one year ago. The curve is hinged at the steady 25 basis point overnight rate set by the BoC, but the chart shows that the yield curve has steepened sharply with the rise in market-determined longer-term interest rates.

Moreover, several market pundits on Bay Street call for the Bank of Canada to hike the overnight rate sooner than the Bank’s guidance suggests–the second half of next year. Traders are now betting that the Bank will begin to hike rates early next year. The overnight swaps market is currently pricing in three hikes in Canada by the end of 2022, which would bring the policy rate to 1.0%. Remember, they can be wrong. Given the global nature of the inflation pressures, it’s hard to imagine what tighter monetary policy in Canada could do to reduce these price pressures. The only thing it would accomplish is to slow economic activity in Canada vis-a-vis the rest of the world, particularly if the US Federal Reserve sticks to its plan to wait until 2023 to start hiking rates.

It is expected that the Bank will taper its bond-buying program once again to $1 billion, from the current pace of $2 billion.

The Bank will release its economic forecast next week in the Monetary Policy Report. It will need to raise Q3 inflation to 4.1% from its prior forecast of 3.9%.

 

Article From: https://dominionlending.ca/economic-insights/canadian-inflation-rises-once-again

 

Canadian Home Sales Rise in September For The First Time Since March

General Mitchell Goode 15 Oct

Canadian Home Prices Continued to Rise As Insufficient Supply Creates Excess Demand
Today the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) released statistics showing national existing-home sales rose 0.9% between August and September 2021, posting the first monthly gain since March (see chart below). On a year-over-year (y-o-y) basis, the number of transactions last month was down 17.5%. Nevertheless, it was still the second-highest sales figure ever for the month of September.

“September provided another month’s worth of evidence from all across Canada that housing market conditions are stabilizing near current levels,” said Cliff Stevenson, Chair of CREA. “In some ways that comes as a relief given the volatility of the last year-and-a-half, but the issue is that demand/supply conditions are stabilizing in a place that very few people are happy about. There is still a lot of demand chasing an increasingly scarce number of listings, so this market remains very challenging.”

Housing supply remains a major constraint, forcing many buyers to either pay up for scarce properties or to remain on the sidelines. This is particularly troublesome for first-time homebuyers as mortgage rates are coming under renewed upward pressure as inflation concerns have forced yield curves to steepen and longer-term bond yields to rise worldwide.
New ListingsExacerbating supply problems, the number of newly listed homes fell by 1.6% in September compared to August, as gains in parts of Quebec were swamped by declines in the Lower Mainland, in and around the GTA and in Calgary.

With sales up and new listings down in September, the sales-to-new listings ratio tightened to 75.1% compared to 73.2% in August. The long-term average for the national sales-to-new listings ratio is 54.8%.

Based on a comparison of sales-to-new listings ratio with long-term averages, a small but growing majority of local markets are moving back into seller’s market territory (see chart below). As of September, it was close to a 60/40 split between seller’s and balanced markets.

There were 2.1 months of inventory on a national basis at the end of September 2021, down slightly from 2.2 months in August and 2.3 months in June and July. This is extremely low and indicative of a strong seller’s market at the national level and in most local markets. The long-term average for this measure is more than 5 months.
Home PricesIn line with tighter market conditions, the Aggregate Composite MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI) accelerated to 1.7% on a month-over-month basis in September 2021.

The non-seasonally adjusted Aggregate Composite MLS® HPI was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis in September, up a bit from the 21.3% year-over-year gain recorded in August.

Looking across the country, year-over-year price growth is creeping up above 20% in B.C., though it is lower in Vancouver (13.9%), on par with the provincial number in Victoria, and higher in other parts of the province (see table below).

Year-over-year price gains are in the mid-to-high single digits in Alberta and Saskatchewan, while gains are into the low double digits in Manitoba.

Ontario saw year-over-year price growth pushing 25% in September; however–as with B.C.–big, medium and smaller city trends, gains are notably lower in the GTA (19.0%) and Ottawa (16.4%), around the provincial average in Oakville-Milton (26.9%), Hamilton-Burlington (26.5%) and Guelph (26.4%), and considerably higher in many of the smaller markets around the province.

Greater Montreal’s year-over-year price growth remains at a little over 20%, while Quebec City is now at 12.7%. Price growth is running a little above 30% in New Brunswick (higher in Greater Moncton, a little lower in Fredericton and Saint John), while Newfoundland and Labrador is now at 12% year-over-year (a bit lower in St. John’s).
Bottom Line

Canada continues to contend with one of the developed world’s most severe housing shortages. As our borders open to a resurgence of immigration, excess demand for housing will mount. The impediments to a rapid rise in housing supply, both for rent and purchase, are primarily in the planning and approvals process at the municipal level. Liberal Party election promises do not address these issues.

It is noteworthy that while Canada suffers one of the most acute housing shortages, housing affordability is getting worse in many OECD countries (see chart below).
Adding to the affordability problem, interest rates have bottomed as an inflation-induced selloff in bonds mount despite the assertion of most central banks that inflation is temporary. Very recently, Governor Tiff Macklem admitted that inflation is likely to remain a problem until the end of the year.

Some of the inflation is coming from disruptions on the supply side emanating from COVID-related disruptions, which may work themselves out in time. However, they’re still getting worse, and many suggest the timeline could be much longer than just this year. In addition, extreme weather events and climate change initiatives–both of which are more or less permanent–have also boosted inflation pressure. Consumer demand for goods and housing and business capital expenditures have surged in the face of labour shortages. Wage rates are beginning to rise. All of this has raised prices spilling into next year. Higher interest rates are likely sustainable even though the Bank of Canada and the Federal Reserve will likely hold overnight rates steady for the next year (see charts below).
 

Article From: https://dominionlending.ca/economic-insights/canadian-home-sales-rise-in-september-for-the-first-time-since-march

 

Great News On The Canadian Job Front

General Mitchell Goode 13 Oct

Blockbuster September Jobs Report–Further Fuel For Rising Interest Rates
Statistics Canada released the September Labour Force Survey this morning, providing some unmitigated good news on the jobs front. Employment rose by 157,000 (+0.8%) in September, the fourth consecutive monthly increase. The unemployment rate fell by 0.2 percentage points to 6.9%.Employment gains in September were concentrated in full-time work and among people in the core working-age group of 25 to 54. Increases were spread across multiple industries and provinces.

Employment gains in the month were split between the public-sector (+78,000; +1.9%) and the private-sector (+98,000; +0.8%).

Employment increased in six provinces in September: Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan.

Service-sector increases (+142,000) were led by public administration (+37,000), information, culture and recreation (+33,000) and professional, scientific and technical services (+30,000).

Employment in accommodation and food services fell for the first time in five months (-27,000).

While employment in manufacturing (+22,000) and natural resources (+6,600) increased, there was little overall change in the goods-producing sector.

The gains in September brought employment back to the same level as in February 2020, just before the onset of the pandemic. However, the employment rate—that is, the proportion of the population aged 15 and older employed—was 60.9% in September, 0.9 percentage points lower than in February 2020, due to population growth of 1.4% over the past 19 months.

The number of employed people working less than half their usual hours was little changed in September and remained 218,000 higher (+26.8%) than in February 2020. Total hours worked were up 1.1% in September but were 1.5% below their pre-pandemic level.

Among 15-to-69-year-olds who worked at least half their usual hours, the proportion working from home was little changed in September at 23.8%. The ratio who worked from home was lowest in Saskatchewan (12.3%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (12.8%), and highest in Ontario (28.7%). Overall, at the national level, the proportion of workers who worked from home was higher in urban areas (25.2%) than in rural areas (15.9%).

In September 2021, 4.1 million Canadians who worked at least half their usual hours worked from home, similar to the level recorded in September 2020.
The unemployment rate declined for the fourth consecutive month in September, falling 0.2 percentage points to 6.9%, the lowest rate since the onset of the pandemic. The unemployment rate peaked at 13.7% in May 2020 and has trended downward since, with some short-term increases during the late fall of 2020 and spring of 2021, coinciding with the tightening of public health restrictions. In the months leading up to the pandemic, the unemployment rate had hovered around historic lows and was 5.7% in February 2020.The adjusted unemployment rate—which includes those who wanted a job but did not look for one—was 8.9% in September, down 0.2 percentage points from one month earlier.

Long-term unemployment—the number of people continuously unemployed for 27 weeks or more—was little changed in September. There were 389,000 long-term unemployed, more than double the number in February 2020.

The ability of the long-term unemployed to transition to employment may be influenced by several factors, including their level of education and current labour market conditions. For example, those with no post-secondary education face a labour market where employment in occupations not requiring post-secondary education was 287,000 lower in September 2021 than in September 2019 (not seasonally adjusted).
Bottom Line The Bank of Canada has repeatedly suggested that it would not begin to tighten monetary policy until the economy returned to full capacity utilization, which they estimate will not be until at least the second half of next year. Employment will need to surpass pre-pandemic levels before complete recovery is declared because the population had grown since the start of the crisis 19 months ago.

Substantial job losses remain in the hardest-hit sectors. The chart below shows the employment change in percentage terms by sector compared with February 2020.

Sectors where remote work has been widespread–such as professional, scientific and technical services, public administration, finance, insurance and real estate–have seen a net gain in employment. However, in high-touch sectors that were deemed nonessential, the jobs recovery has been far more constrained. This is especially true in agriculture, accommodation and food services, and recreation. Ironically, these sectors have high job vacancy rates as many formerly employed here are reluctant to return. Enhanced benefits and compensation in these sectors will help.

Just this week, the BoC Governor Tiff Macklem reiterated that widespread inflation pressures are likely to remain at least until the end of this year. Most are reflective of global supply chain disruptions as well as extreme weather events. Just how long these will last is uncertain, but tighter monetary policy would have little impact on this type of inflation.

Nevertheless, bond markets have sold off worldwide in response to inflation fears and the annual US debt-ceiling antics. The final chart below shows the steepening of the Canadian yield curve since one year ago. The 5-year bond yield has risen sharply over that period, from 0.378% to a current level today of 1.205%. It is no surprise that 5-year fixed mortgage rates are rising. 

 

Article From: https://dominionlending.ca/economic-insights/great-news-on-the-canadian-job-front

 

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Finding Your Financial Freedom

General Mitchell Goode 13 Oct

Many Canadians will spend their entire lives without proper financial education. With the help of Enriched Academy, an online financial education platform, Our House Magazine has collected some insight and tips from experts on financial literacy to help Canadians achieve their dreams, from homeownership to a comfy retirement.

Money. It’s virtually impossible to get by in life without it, and everyone wants more of it. But many people struggle to manage their money and make it work for them. And all the stats are going in the wrong direction. More and more Canadians are struggling with debt and get by living paycheque-to-paycheque with no idea or strategy on how to turn it around.

Luckily there are many resources out there to help guide you in the right direction. How you use the information to form a strategy will determine your financial future. Jay Seabrook is the co-founder of Enriched Academy, an educational program dedicated to providing financial literacy and awareness to teens and adults.

He explained that most people don’t even get started on a healthy financial journey because of some basic money myths like, you need money to make money or it’s too complicated to understand.

Seabrook suggested there are two key metrics people need to be aware of: their net worth and how much is needed to save every month to reach financial freedom.

Net worth is a valuation of your assets minus your liabilities or what you own and subtracting what you owe. While a general rule of thumb is putting away 10 per cent of your pre-tax income a month, Seabrook suggested the number may not be enough to meet your financial goal. You’ll need to create a proper budget to determine that number you really need to put away to reach your goals.

He added by getting a handle on those two aspects and tracking them on a regular basis, chances of getting to financial freedom are dramatically higher.

Financial literacy is something deeply personal to the 42-year-old entrepreneur.

Like most people, Seabrook grew up with very little financial education. That reality hit home after college when he moved to Whistler, B.C. for work. While he was surrounded by some of the wealthiest people in the world, he couldn’t scrounge enough money for a ski pass – the purpose of moving to the resort community in the first place.

Seabrook didn’t turn his fortunes around until he met a mentor who showed him a path forward.

“Life is a buffet table of the things you can do, but I was on the bread and water part of the buffet table, and I have no idea how to get access to rest of it. It drove me crazy,” he told Our House Magazine. “I wanted this better life, but I didn’t know how to get it.”

By the mid-2000s, Seabrook got into the ground floor of an upstart mortgage company in Dominion Lending Centres. He eventually invested in the company and worked his way up to VP of operations. Along the way, he met his business partner and Enriched Co-founder Kevin Cochran, who was also finding success at DLC. The two entrepreneurs used their own personal experience and what they had learned over the years to create the educational platform. Enriched launched in 2011, and short time later Seabrook and Cochran got a break with a winning pitch to the Dragons’ Den that eventually grew to its current online education platform.

Now the two entrepreneurs are busy teaching the techniques and tools they’ve learned to a mass audience. Seabrook was quick to point out financial freedom won’t happen overnight, but it doesn’t take a lifetime to get there either.

“It’s actually a lot easier than people think,” he said, adding the “biggest hurdle for most people is suppressing the instant gratification of spending in the moment”.

“People spend their entire lives trying to make money, why? They want a nice lifestyle and get to a point where they can enjoy the best things in life, but if you don’t have a plan, you probably won’t get there. If you’re really serious about getting to a place where you make more money from passive income than all the hours you put in, you have to start learning it. If you get clear on some of your goals, you’ll get there.”

 

Article From: https://dominionlending.ca/life-style/finding-your-financial-freedom

 

Downsizing Your Home

General Mitchell Goode 28 Sep

Downsizing Your Home.

Moving to a larger house is not the only time that things can change with your home and mortgage. Sometimes there comes a point when owning a home becomes a little too much to handle; or maybe you’re an empty-nester and no longer need three extra bedrooms. Whatever the reason, downsizing is a great option when you no longer need a full size home. Perhaps you want to swap your two-story family home for a rancher, or maybe a cute little apartment or townhouse! Just as there are many options for individuals expanding families, there are just as many options for people wanting to scale down.

For homeowners who are fortunate enough to now be mortgage-free and looking to scale down, you could be sitting on a gold mine!

If you do still owe on your current mortgage, it is important to remember that downsizing during your current mortgage cycle, will be breaking the mortgage. This means, you will have to go through the entire qualification process again – including passing the stress test. The stress test is now required for all mortgages. Its purpose is to determine whether a homebuyer can afford their principal and interest payments, should interest rates increase. It is based on the 5-year benchmark rate from Bank of Canada or the customer’s mortgage interest rate plus 2% – whichever is higher.

Regardless of your current situation, there are some costs that go with selling your existing home and moving to something smaller or more affordable.

Some of the costs associated to downsizing are:

  • Realtor commission fees, which range from 2.5 to 5 percent of the home selling price
  • Closing costs and legal fees, which are 1 to 4% of the purchase price on the new home
  • Miscellaneous costs such as moving expenses, upgrading appliances and/or buying new furniture
  • If you are moving into a condominium or townhouse, there are strata fees to consider

WHY NOT CONSIDER A REVERSE MORTGAGE?

Most individuals looking to scale down are looking to do so for retirement or because they are now empty-nesters. However, if you are looking to downsize simply due to being unable to manage your mortgage or maintenance costs, there is an option called a “Reverse Mortgage”.

A reverse mortgage is a loan secured against the value of your home. It is exclusively for homeowners aged 55 years and older and enables the homeowners to convert up to 55% of the home’s value into tax-free cash!

With a reverse mortgage, you maintain ownership of your home and can use the loan to cover costs or pay out debts. The loan would need to be repaid in the event that you choose to move and sell the current home.

If you are looking to downsize your home, a Dominion Lending Centres mortgage professional can help! Contact one of our many experts today to help make your next move a successful one.

 

Article From: https://dominionlending.ca/life-style/downsizing-your-home

 

Insufficient Housing Supply Boosted Home Prices Again In August

General Mitchell Goode 20 Sep

Home Prices Still Rising As Falling Sales Reflect Insufficient Supply
Today the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) released statistics showing national existing home sales fell a slight 0.5% nationally from July to August 2021–the fifth consecutive monthly decline. Over the same period, the number of newly listed properties edged up 0.8%, and the MLS Home Price Index rose 0.9% m/m bringing the year-over-year (y/y) rise to 21.3%. Transactions appear to be stabilizing at a more sustainable, but still strong level (see chart below).

Small declines in the GTA and Montreal were offset by gains in the Fraser Valley, Quebec City and Edmonton.

The actual (not seasonally adjusted) number of transactions in August 2021 was down 14% on a year-over-year basis from the record set for that month last August. That said, it was still the second-best month of August in history.
New ListingsThe number of newly listed homes ticked 1.2% higher in August compared to July. As with sales activity, it was a fairly even split between markets that saw declines and gains. New supply declines in the GTA and Ottawa were offset by gains in Vancouver and Montreal among bigger Canadian markets.

With both sales and new listings relatively unchanged in August, the sales-to-new listings ratio remained a tight 72.4% compared to 73.6% in July. The long-term average for the national sales-to-new listings ratio is 54.7%.

Based on a comparison of sales-to-new listings ratio with long-term averages, a small majority of local markets remain in seller’s market territory. The remainder are in balanced territory.

There were 2.2 months of inventory on a national basis at the end of August 2021, down a bit from 2.3 months in July. This is extremely low – still indicative of a strong seller’s market at the national level and most local markets. The long-term average for this measure is more than twice where it stands today. It was also the first time since March that this measure of market balance tightened up.
Home PricesThe Aggregate Composite MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI) rose 0.9% month-over-month in August 2021. In line with tighter market conditions, this was the first acceleration in month-over-month price growth since February. While the trend of re-accelerating prices was first observed earlier this summer in Ontario, the reversal at the national level in August was less of a regional story and more of a critical mass story. Synchronous trends across the country have been the defining feature of the housing story since COVID-19 first hit, and that still appears to be the case.

The non-seasonally adjusted Aggregate Composite MLS® HPI was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis in August.

Looking across the country, year-over-year price growth is averaging around 20% in B.C., though it is lower in Vancouver, a bit lower in Victoria, and higher in other parts of the province. Year-over-year price gains are in the mid-to-high single digits in Alberta and Saskatchewan, while gains were a little over 10% in Manitoba.

Ontario saw year-over-year price growth still over 20% in August. However, as with B.C. big, medium and smaller city trends, gains are notably lower in the GTA, around the provincial average in Oakville-Milton, Hamilton-Burlington and Ottawa, and considerably higher in most smaller markets in the province.

The opposite is true in Quebec, where Greater Montreal’s year-over-year price growth, at a little over 20%, is almost double that of Quebec City. Price growth is running a little above 30% in New Brunswick (higher in Greater Moncton, a little lower in Fredericton and Saint John), while Newfoundland and Labrador is in the 10% range on a year-over-year basis (a bit lower in St. John’s).
Bottom Line

Local housing markets are cooling off as prospective buyers contend with a dearth of homes for sale. Though increasing vaccination rates have begun to bring a return to normal life in Canada, that’s left the country to contend with one of the developed world’s most severe housing shortages and little prospect of much new supply becoming available soon despite all of the election promises. As net new immigration resumes, this excess demand in housing will mount. The impediments to a rapid rise in housing supply, both for rent and purchase, are primarily in the planning and approvals process at the municipal levels. Federal election promises do not address these issues.

 

Article From: https://dominionlending.ca/economic-insights/insufficient-housing-supply-boosted-home-prices-again-in-august

 

Bought Your First Home? Here are Some Tips for You.

General Mitchell Goode 14 Sep

Bought Your First Home? Here are Some Tips for You.

Buying a home is an exciting time in your life.  It’s a monumental occasion, and you should celebrate and enjoy every moment of the experience. But at the same time, there are a lot of new stresses you’ll discover. From trying to find the right space, to bidding and financing, the whole experience is a roller-coaster ride. Once you gain possession of the property, you’re about to start on a whole new adventure as a homeowner.

Homeownership is accompanied by a new world of stresses and anxieties. As soon as you move in, you’ll no doubt discover things that aren’t working right or aren’t as you anticipated.  It’s a learning experience as you try to tackle the issues, sometimes an expensive experience at that.

Let’s take a look at some of the issues you might encounter and what you can do about them.

BUT FIRST, THE VALUE OF A PROPERTY INSPECTION

Before we dive into details, it’s worth noting the importance and value of a property inspection. In this competitive real estate market, it’s not always possible to get a property inspection performed before you buy a home. If you’re unable to, it’s still worth doing after the fact as a good inspection can draw attention to issues that need immediate attention, issues that you might not have noticed before.

The cost of an inspection will depend on the size of your property. While this may seem like an unnecessary expense at the time, it can help save you money in the long run.

TEN COMMON ISSUES

According to the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors, here are the ten most common issues reported by inspectors:

  1. Poor drainage/surface grading can lead to water infiltrating basements and crawlspaces.
  2. Incorrect electrical work that can include insufficient protection against overload, dangerous wiring, and not enough service to the house.
  3. Damage to the roof, such as damaged and old shingles that can lead to leaky roofs.
  4. Heating system issues like blocked chimneys, damaged equipment, and broken controls.
  5. Poor home maintenance, which is a broad area, but includes amateur wiring, poor plumbing, damage to the masonry, etc.
  6. Structural problems like windows and doors, the foundation, and joists that can all suffer significant damage.
  7. Plumbing fixtures not working properly, poor waste lines, and old and broken piping that can all lead to major problems.
  8. Exterior issues like poor weather-stripping and caulking, or old windows and doors, that can all affect the integrity of a home.
  9. Bad ventilation that may result in issues such as excessive moisture, which can rot or damage materials throughout the home.
  10. Miscellaneous things, usually cosmetic, that are identified by home inspectors.

The site also highlights how, in four of the top ten issues reported, water infiltration was a factor.  For this reason, it’s important to pay particular attention to signs of water damage and leaks throughout your house. Homes are a lot of work, and it’s easy to cut corners on things like clearing pipes and maintaining the seals around windows.

HOME RENOS AND PERMITS

Wherever you live, each province and municipality has their own set of rules for what permits you require when performing home renovations.  In Ontario, for example, the government requires you have a building permit when you do one of the following:

  • Construct or place a building on your property that is over 10 square metres in area. This applies to motor homes, garden sheds, and other structures.
  • Add to your residence, renovate, or make repairs.
  • Change what your building is used for.
  • Construct or dig up a foundation.
  • Build a seasonal building.
  • Perform work on the on-site sewage system, including installation, extension, repairs, and alteration.

Looking at this, it all feels a little broad, and that if you are to do any kind of work on your home you’ll need a permit. This isn’t the case. Each municipality has specific guidelines for when you require a permit. Continuing with the example of Ontario, the city of Toronto provides detailed information on their website of when you do and do not require a permit.

To be safe, make sure you contact your municipality before planning renovations.

Pro tip: Building permits take time to be reviewed and issued, so start early if you’re planning on renovations. There are also fees associated with permits, so be sure to account for this in your budget.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Becoming a homeowner is exciting and should be celebrated. But it’s also a big responsibility, and there are a lot of things to juggle when you purchase a space. Even with a home inspection, you will undoubtedly encounter unexpected issues with your home as you start to live in it. Making sure you’re aware of any potential issues and keeping on top of your home maintenance will take you a long way!

 

Article From: https://dominionlending.ca/sponsored/bought-your-first-home-here-are-some-tips-for-you

 

Bank of Canada Stands Pat

General Mitchell Goode 9 Sep

Bank of Canada Responds To Weak Q2 Economy–Holding Policy Steady
As we await the quarterly economic forecast in next month’s Monetary Policy Report, the Bank of Canada acknowledged that the Q2 GDP report, released last week, caught them off-guard. In today’s policy statement, the Governing Council of the Bank said, “In Canada, GDP contracted by about 1 percent in the second quarter, weaker than anticipated in the Bank’s July Monetary Policy Report (MPR). This largely reflects a contraction in exports, due in part to supply chain disruptions, especially in the auto sector. Housing market activity pulled back from recent high levels, largely as expected. Consumption, business investment and government spending all contributed positively to growth, with domestic demand growing at more than 3 percent. Employment rebounded through June and July, with hard-to-distance sectors hiring as public health restrictions eased. This is reducing unevenness in the labour market, although considerable slack remains and some groups – particularly low-wage workers – are still disproportionately affected. The Bank continues to expect the economy to strengthen in the second half of 2021, although the fourth wave of COVID-19 infections and ongoing supply bottlenecks could weigh on the recovery” (see chart below).
Bank Says CPI Inflation Boosted By Temporary Factors–Maybe

Financial conditions remain highly accommodative around the globe. And the Bank today continued to assert that the rise in inflation above 3% is expected, “boosted by base-year effects, gasoline prices, and pandemic-related supply bottlenecks. These factors pushing up inflation are expected to be transitory, but their persistence and magnitude are uncertain and will be monitored closely. Wage increases have been moderate to date, and medium-term inflation expectations remain well-anchored. Core measures of inflation have risen but by less than the CPI.”

The Governing Council again stated the Canadian economy still has considerable excess capacity, and the recovery continues to require extraordinary monetary policy support. “We remain committed to holding the policy interest rate at the effective lower bound until economic slack is absorbed so that the 2 percent inflation target is sustainably achieved.” Concerning forward guidance, the Bank said, “We remain committed to holding the policy interest rate at the effective lower bound until economic slack is absorbed so that the 2 percent inflation target is sustainably achieved. In the Bank’s July projection, this happens in the second half of 2022.” This seems to be a placeholder statement, allowing the Bank to reassess the outlook next month, possibly delaying the guidance if the economy continues to perform below their July projection.

Similarly, the Bank maintains its Quantitative Easing program at the current pace of purchasing $2 billion per week of Government of Canada (GoC) bonds, keeping interest rates low across the yield curve. “Decisions regarding future adjustments to the pace of net bond purchases will be guided by Governing Council’s ongoing assessment of the strength and durability of the recovery. We will continue to provide the appropriate degree of monetary policy stimulus to support the recovery and achieve the inflation objective”.

Bottom Line

Only time will tell if the Bank of Canada is correct in believing that inflation pressures are temporary. Financial markets will remain sensitive to incoming data, but bond markets seem willing to accept their view for now. The 5-year GoC bond yield has edged down from its recent peak of 1.0% posted on June 28th to a current level of .80%. In contrast, the Canadian dollar had weakened significantly since late June when it was over US$0.825 to US$0.787 this morning. Clearly, the Bank of Canada is committed to keeping Canadian interest rates low for the foreseeable future.

The next Bank of Canada policy decision date is October 27th. Stay tuned for the Canadian employment report this Friday.

 

Article From: https://dominionlending.ca/economic-insights/bank-of-canada-stands-pat

 

Are e-signatures in Real Estate Transactions Here to Stay?

General Mitchell Goode 3 Sep

The pandemic has changed the way we do business. Between home offices and ZOOM meetings, our daily engagements have felt a seismic shift. While some of these changes are temporary fixes, others could prove to be the new normal.

If you’ve bought or sold a property in the last year, you’ll recognize some of these changes right away. From virtual open houses and appointment-only viewings to online meetings with banks and lawyers, you might question if you’ll ever personally meet any of the people you’ve been doing business with.

One of the biggest changes in the management of real estate transactions is that you don’t always have to provide a “wet,” or physical, signature. Instead, in a lot of cases, you can provide an e-signature to act as your legally binding agreement.

THE CHANGE IN BUSINESS

While e-signatures have been used in real estate transactions for years, since the start of the pandemic, their use has increased exponentially. “Prior to COVID, I would guess that I was using e-signatures 60-70% of the time” notes Ronald Francis, a real estate broker with 22 years of residential experience, “now it would be at least 90%, maybe 95%.”

A spokesperson from the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), observes that the introduction of e-signatures to mortgage documents had been in the works, but was pushed to implementation with the pandemic. “At the onset of the pandemic,” he states, “we rapidly shifted our priorities and launched an e-signature solution that could be leveraged by our mortgage specialists. The use of e-signatures has accelerated steadily ever since.”

Mark Weisleder, a senior partner and notary public at Real Estate Lawyers.ca LLP, points out that while the pandemic resulted in a rapid shift in how business was handled, the change was almost inevitable. “Already, a year or two before the pandemic, things were moving in that [the e-signature] direction,” he comments.

EARLY ADOPTION

To see the real estate industry’s confidence in e-signatures, look no further than Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA)’s partnering with DocuSign, an electronic signature management program. While this partnership began before the pandemic, it demonstrates how the industry was prepared for the shift.

Adopting e-signatures into real estate transactions has had numerous advantages for the industry. Mark Weisleder observes, “I think [the government] did realize that the electronic signature in many ways is more secure, and there’s a record of it, even more so than a hand written signature”. With the digital footprint they leave behind, it’s much easier for e-signatures to be authenticated, and easier for witnesses to be verified.

During the pandemic, e-signatures have also allowed real estate agents, mortgage brokers and lawyers to stay at the forefront of health and safety. RBC notes “to help keep our clients and employees safe, we encourage our mortgage specialists to recommend the use of e-signatures, eliminating the need for in-person interactions as much as possible. Currently, the majority of our mortgage documents are signed using our e-signature capability.”

BUSINESS SIMPLIFIED

The use of e-signatures has made the process of buying and selling a property much smoother. In the past, individuals would have had to meet with a number of individuals to sign various formal documents, driving from meeting to meeting as they put ink to a seemingly endless stream of papers. “[The] advantages are obvious,” says Ronald Francis, “stay in [your] home office, send documents for signature and receive them in matter of minutes.”

It’s important to note that not all provinces have fully incorporated the practice. Jeff Kahane of Alberta’s Kahane Law Office comments that “[e-signatures are] not permitted in real estate documents that need registration at land titles. We need video signed documents to be sent back to us (originals) for land titles submission. In Ontario and BC things are different and contracts have been signed electronically for a while […] here a transfer needs wet ink.”

Ephraim Fung of British Columbia’s Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP in B.C. similarly notes that “section 2(4) of the Electronic Transactions Act (British Columbia) provides that documents registered in the B.C. Land Title Office to create or transfer interests in land cannot be signed with e-signatures. These documents need to be signed with wet ink and witnessed by a lawyer or notary public.”

That’s not to say that a change to the industry isn’t coming in the near future. RBC notes “the recent shift may also expedite some regulatory changes regarding e-signatures on registration documents as some provinces still require a wet signature.”

Mark Weisleder echoes the sentiment that present circumstances have pushed technological adaptation forward in a way that might not otherwise have been possible. “This is where I’ve seen the pandemic actually move things along in a very positive way, which might have taken, frankly, years,” he observes.

THE FUTURE

With how easy e-signatures have made handling transactions, it’s not surprising that Ronald Francis and others feel that “e-signatures are here to stay”. With individuals able to sign documents on their own time and with minimal disruption, the adoption of the technology will continue once the pandemic is behind us.

The efficiency of e-signatures is not lost on Mark Weisleder. “The use of e-signatures has also enabled our law firm to complete an entire real estate closing without ever seeing a buyer or seller, and making sure everything is completely safe,” he notes.

Not only do e-signatures allow for a more streamlined flow of business, but they also help to reduce the possibility of errors in document signing. By clearly directing consumers to what lines of a document need signatures, there’s less chance of missed or incorrectly placed signatures. This allows transactions to be completed faster and with less confusion.

Beyond the benefits to consumers, RBC notes that e-signatures have additional advantages. “There is also an environmental benefit since we’re able to significantly reduce the amount of paper required to complete an application and eliminate the greenhouse gasses associated with travel relating to signatures.”

Ephraim Fung observes that in B.C., “In response to challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the B.C. courts and Land Title Survey Authority have released practice directives and policies that make remote/video witnessing of land title documents possible.”

This evolution is a positive step forward, while still maintaining strict security measures. Fung continues, “these policies require parties to B.C. real estate transactions to go through stringent checks and balances to ensure their identities are properly verified. Additionally, practitioners must submit sworn affidavit evidence concurrently with any remotely witnessed land title document for review by the Land Title Survey Authority, prior to the land title documents being accepted for registration.”

E-SIGNING ON THE DOTTED LINE

While the pandemic has presented the industry with many challenges, it has also driven real change. “We’re very pleased at the way that we’ve been able to use technology, as lawyers… it has helped to keep the industry going during difficult times,” says Mark Weisleder.

The relative ease with which the real estate industry has integrated e-signatures shows a significant shift in thinking. While the pandemic may have forced the industry to integrate the technology sooner than anticipated, it’s a welcome change that won’t be going away any time soon.

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