Prudence urged for 2010
I decided to wait until after Christmas to send my 2010 calendars as we all get so much mail from family and friends at this time of year and it’s nice to get something in the new year. I have received many positive comments about it’s usefulness and hopefully you find a spot to keep it for reference.
It has been another eventful year in the financial markets and they seem to have recovered for the most part from last winter’s problems. I sent a couple of updates in 2009 suggesting that you consider locking in the interest rate on your debt as these low rates wouldn’t last forever. Many of you have already done so and I would urge the rest of you to consider it over the next few months as well. Rates are still low with 5 year locked in rates available for under 4% and 10 year at under 5.5%. These are historically great rates and will no doubt look incredible over the next few years.
The Bank of Canada is very concerned about the level of debt that Canadians are carrying and is in a bit of a quandary as it has kept interest rates very low to get us to drive the recovery through increased spending but now is concerned that we may be saddled with unmanageable debt when rates increase this year. One bank economist says Canadians added $44 billion to our debt load in the first half of 2009 which was expected but the concern is that there will be another wave of spending over the next year that will overstretch consumers. He states that is why it is important to remind the market that those interest rates will not remain the same forever.
Another concern is that the Finance Minister is “watching and monitoring” and would consider tightening rules if necessary. This tightening will most likely be through increasing the minimum down payment to from the current 5% to perhaps 10% and/or shortening the amortization period allowed for mortgage terms to 25 years. In 2009 they already increased the required down payment to 5% from zero and lowered the amortization period from 40 years to 35 years. Neither of these moves have slowed the market. Instituting additional restrictions would likely have a huge affect on the housing market as fewer first time buyers would be able to buy which would cool the markets and lower prices.
Some things you may want to consider doing to protect yourselves.
Lock in your interest rate
Extend the mortgage term to get beyond the coming rate increases
Use the equity in your home to pay off credit card and loan debt at low rates and lower payments
Buy now in case the rules are tightened which could affect your borrowing power
Refinance your home to invest in RRSP and equity markets
Call me to review your mortgage and see if acting now is right for you. Keith Allan Phone: 250-374-3010 email: kallan@mortgagealliance.com |