What are the people not in the market already going to do? Affordability is completely out of reach.
Personal Finance Canada
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In my case, two things. Firstly, not putting home ownership on a pedestal as a crucial part of my financial well being. Truthfully, actually purchasing is quite low on my list of financial priorities. I have been a renter for 12 years and it has worked very well for me. My retirement savings plan accounts for the possibility of renting through retirement (or, equivalently, cashing out investments some time closer to retirement to purchase). At this stage in my life I'd much rather rent and have a pool of liquid investments than have a mortgage I can barely afford.
Secondly, I'm very focused on growing my income in my career. I've tripled my income since 2019 and if the chips fall correctly it should double over the next year. Were it not for the excessive housing costs I would not be so focused on income growth since my current salary already comfortably supports the remainder of my spending.
The only thing I feel I'm missing from a financial standpoint is access to leverage. Next year I'll have filled all of my spouse's and I's registered accounts so I'm going to more seriously investigate how to safely lever up using margin and derivatives.
Im settling for being depressed I didn't get in the market ages ago :D
If only we were born 5 years earlier uwu
I'm going to keep being a renter and maybe never retire
Leave Canada unfortunately
I have a variable rate mortgage and my amortization period is at 50 years. Should I be worried? I have enough money to increase my monthly payments however I am hoping that the interest rates will fall by this time next year. I would rather just make prepayments on the mortgage since that gives me the most flexibility with money allocation. Is this ok or are there some downsides that I might be missing?
Is your renewal coming up soon? This could be a challenging period because amortizations aren't typically this long. So your payment might increase significantly to get you back "on track." Guidelines are currently being discussed to address this in a more standardized way, but it's uncertain how it will pan out.
The main difference between making prepayments and increasing your monthly payments is that you'll accrue more interest while waiting to make your prepayment, and while you have "idle" cash on the side. This is the price you pay for increased flexibility.