Our Five Favourite Posts from 2012
2012 has been a big year for Ratehub.ca: we launched our first and second infographics, began to produce video content with new partner sites, and added a number of new members to the team. We also wrote a lot of content for our blog, both in-house and with the help of our contributors. Today, we’ve rounded up a handful of our favourite blog posts from the past year. Enjoy!
With closing costs totalling anywhere from 1.5 to 4 per cent of the cost of your new home, it’s a large expense to save and pay for on the day you get your keys. According to a TD report released earlier this year, 6% of first-time homebuyers surveyed didn’t budget for anything other than their down payment, 13% forgot about one-time fees like land transfer tax or a home inspection, and 60% said they wish they had been more thorough when budgeting for a home purchase. So what was our best financial tip this year? In short: don’t forget about closing costs. Save early and be prepared.
#4: How Does the Toronto Land Transfer Tax Affect the Market and What Can We Do?
When you buy a home almost anywhere in Canada, you have to pay a land transfer tax (LTT). However, if you’re purchasing property in Toronto, you have to pay two land transfer taxes: your regular Ontario LTT and another, equally as expensive, municipal LTT. As the only city in Ontario to have this extra tax, it is a heavily debated issue. This guest post, written by Toronto realtor Aleksandra Oleksak, takes a look at how this tax has been affecting real estate sales here in the city.
#3: Canadian Housing Market Will Cool, Not Crash [Infographic]
Earlier this year, gloomy predictions of a market crash in Canada were dominating media headlines. In response, the team here at Ratehub.ca did our own digging around to compare our housing market today (in 2012) to what our neighbours south of the border were experiencing in 2007. We turned our research into our first-ever infographic, which, up until recently, was the most-shared post on our blog all year. Take a look and see why.
#2: The New Mortgage Rules in Canada
This post makes the list not because of its content, but because of the topic. Beginning July 9th, the Government of Canada made changes to the mortgage lending rules in Canada, in an attempt to curb rising household debt and cool the market. And it has done just that. While Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says he is happy with what the changes have done to cool the market, not all homeowners and buyers can agree, as you’ll see in our last (and most) favourite post of the year.
#1: 5 Things You Didn’t Know About the Canadian Mortgage Market [Infographic]
Every year, the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals (CAAMP) releases a report about the state of the Canadian residential mortgage market. This year, the team at Ratehub.ca worked with Push Pull Labs to bring the data to life in our second-ever infographic. This post tops our list for two reasons: first, we love infographics and we’re especially proud of how this one turned out; second, this post is currently the most popular one on our blog, in terms of views, shares and tweets. For that, we have to thank all of you!