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What happens at a house showing? When listing a home for sale, this question was commonly eclipsed by others that more directly impacted the seller’s bottom line, such as, “How much should I list for?” and “How long will it take to sell?” However, COVID-19 shifted the showing process, with extra attention paid to safety, convenience and new best practices (think technology). Now, with COVID-19 restrictions starting to ease across the country, here’s a quick refresher of what home sellers can expect when showing their home.

Although the red-hot Canadian real estate market has ostensibly taken a breather in recent months, the latest trends developing across Canada suggest that the boom still has room for growth this year. From strengthening demand to lacklustre new housing construction, many factors are pointing to an upward trajectory for Canadian real estate markets over the next 12 months.

Housing affordability had been a considerable issue since before the coronavirus pandemic, but it was largely concentrated in major urban centres such as Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. In the aftermath of the first wave of the COVID-19 public health crisis, Canadian real estate valuations went through the roof from coast to coast.

Typically, when tapping into your home’s equity, one uses a home equity line of credit (HELOC) or refinances their mortgage. What if we told you this was not the only way to free up home equity for other purposes? While a traditional mortgage is a loan secured by a home or property, the borrower must pay back the loan each month with interest throughout the loan lifetime. A reverse mortgage is the opposite. So, what is a reverse mortgage anyway?

A reverse mortgage is exclusive to Canadians over the age of 55. In a reverse mortgage situation, the homeowner can borrow as much as 55 per cent of the current home’s value. In other words, they are borrowing against the equity in the home. The borrower receives the money and does not have to make any payments on this loan until they either sell their home or pass away (to be repaid by your estate).

This article was supplied by Mark Weisleder, RealEstateLawyers.ca LLP

In the initial wake of COVID-19 and in the subsequent waves (we’re now into the fourth) there has been a lot of uncertainty. This fragility has extended to the housing market as many buyers and sellers found themselves either mid-deal, planning to buy or sell, or had a construction project underway. As real estate professionals, we have received many questions regarding the pandemic and the housing market, frequently around real estate agreements and how COVID-19 has impacted such agreements. Here are the answers to our most frequently asked questions from both clients and Realtors, about how the pandemic has affected real estate agreements.

When you purchase a home, a down payment is typically applied to the purchase price, and the balance is to be paid off over your term of the mortgage. The loan you receive from a lender in order to pay for the house is called a mortgage.

Simply put, a mortgage is a legal and binding agreement between a lender and a borrower for a specific amount of money that must be paid back within a predefined amount of time. The mortgage is a secured loan in that the house you are buying is collateral for the loan. This means that, should you not meet your mortgage repayment obligations, the lender has the right to take the property.

Purchasing a home and taking on a mortgage is a big commitment. In addition to the amount borrowed, the interest rate you receive is also a factor in assessing affordability. Shopping for a better interest rate could save you tens of thousands of dollars over time.