February 08, 2021, by Neil Sharma

According to nesto, an online mortgage brokerage, the appetite for homeownership in Canada has been strong to start the year thanks in large part to low interest rates.

A report from the firm showed that 60% of the brokerage’s users intended to purchase a new home last month, increasing from 48% in January 2020, but it’s come at the expense of refinances, which had declined by 5% since November.

“Just like every year, the first week of January was full of refinance applications resulting from many Canadians reviewing their household budgets,” said nesto’s report. “We expected refinance volumes to increase throughout the month, but to our surprise, it was overshadowed by new purchase requests.

Mortgage rates are steadily declining below what they were in 2020, which nesto, noting that its best insurable variable rate declined by 1.6% to 1.3%, attributed to robust home purchase demand. 

In Canada’s two most populous provinces, Ontario and Quebec, 65-70% of nesto’s application requests for new properties are from homebuyers who have just begun their searches, rather than from buyers who have already found their desired properties.

New purchase requests outpaced refinances in January: nesto

What does this mean?

This article is fascinating, even enlightening, but you may have no idea what to do with the information it  provides.

It’s dangerous to load up on knowledge and move without the practical wisdom to act.

Every week, our coaches post real estate insights and stories from the streets. They unpack real deals, breaking down the numbers, and highlight trends that their clients are making money off of.

Their wisdom is freely available to you right here. 

Sign up for the iWIN Real Estate Newsletter now so you never miss the practical wisdom we are already sending to thousands of investors in Ontario.