By now you have no doubt heard about Canada’s new First Time Home Buyers Incentive.

But what is it? How does it work? What are the pros and cons? And what’s the deal with the “shared equity” system?

I want to show you a simple comparison on money spent on rent vs. money spent on buying a home. The number’s I’ve used below are just estimates, but they will help illustrate an important point that most first time home buyers need to consider when looking for their first home in Saskatoon. Let’s paint […]

There has been speculation that Canadian interest rates are not done rising yet – and some say they will keep rising until 2020. This means borrowers will qualify for less when they’re looking to purchase, and current home owners can expect mortgage payments to climb at the time of their mortgage renewal, or if they are in a variable rate mortgage.

The general consensus is that we will see a rising interest rate trend in 2018.  The economy in the early part of 2018 was not as strong as expected, but most economists feel it will improve throughout 2018.  The question seems to be not so much will the interest rates rise, but moreso, how much will they […]

It seems variable mortgage rates will be standing pat, for now, as the Bank of Canada announced today it will be keeping the target for the overnight rate as-is, at 1.25%.  How this relates to your variable rate mortgage or line of credit is a consumer prime lending rate of 3.45% for most banks. The […]

There are some good economic signs for Saskatchewan in 2018 & 2019.  Many economists expect Saskatchewan to lead the country in economic growth. Potash has seen strong demand, increasing throughout 2017 and into 2018.  This has led to increasing sales and profits.  This is a good sign going forward. Agriculture has been a strong point […]

Interest rates scaring you? It is true that mortgage interest rates have come up over the last month.  Keep in mind that this is a very small increase, and we’re still in an ultra-low rate environment.  We’ve also seen increases before only to see them decrease again. But rates have risen, and we may see […]

First Home Plan - Graduate Retention Program Using the post secondary graduate tax rebate in advance for the use toward down payment.  The best down payment program to hit Saskatchewan in a while. Recent post secondary graduates will be thinking about the Graduate Retention Program at this time of year as they file their income […]

A friend asked me the other day to give my perspective on renting vs. owning. I thought about this, and came up with many great advantages to own and a few good reasons to rent. Then I got to thinking. Who cares what I think. Everyone has their own unique plans and situation. This is […]

The changes announced by the Finance Minister were put in place to ensure that home buyers can afford to hang onto their home if interest rates are higher when their mortgage matures down the road. While I feel they went a little to far on this test, it is not entirely a bad idea. Regardless […]