CAAMP Conference and Other Must Attend Conferences for Lenders

As 2015 wraps up, there are still a few must attend conferences that lenders should be considering. Aside from the big annual CAAMP Conference, Mortgage Forum, there are many other smaller events left in 2015 where you can network with others in your profession.

Meeting other lenders and brokers are great opportunities to stay connected to the industry, stay more competitive and even become aware of new trends.

Here is a list of what events are left for 2015:

·         October 6, 2015 Toronto, Ontario – CAAMP Fraud Summit http://caamp.org/info.php?pid=675

·         October 7, 2015 Stoney Creek, Ontario – IMBA, Professional Development Symposium – Alternative Lending http://imba.ca/events/professional-development-symposiums/

·         November 15, 2015 – November 17 Toronto, Ontario – CAMMP Mortgage Forum 2015 http://www.mortgageconference.ca/Welcome

·         November 17, 2015 – CAAMP Mortgage Hall of Fame and Awards Night

The Purview team at Teranet has confirmed that we will be at both the Fraud Summit and the Mortgage Forum!

What conferences will you be attending?

Mortgage Fraud in Canada and What Brokers Have to Say!

We recently concluded our first Fraud Awareness Month during which we dedicated our social media to fraud awareness and increasing the dialogue between lenders and brokers about types of mortgage fraud in Canada that are prevalent in the industry. It was a huge success!

So many financial professionals chimed in with amazing insights and feedback that we wanted to highlight some of those dialogues.

Brokers acknowledge that lender/broker relationships are incredibly important. Lenders who receive business primarily from brokers count on brokers as a first line of defense. This is one thing that is very attractive about accepting mortgages from brokers – they do so much of the legwork. One thing that came out of Fraud Awareness Month was that brokers across the board really care about the quality of the deals they bring forward to their lenders and are summarily committed to deploying whatever tools they have in their arsenal to combating mortgage fraud in Canada.

Many are even leveraging the most current technology, incurring personal expense to take extra measures when performing due diligence including verifying:

·         Home ownership information

·         Registered mortgage information

·         Sales history information

·         Value of the property and more

Many are using much of the same technology that you use – like AVMs, running property searches, even independently picking up the phone to verify employment. Mortgage fraud in Canada and as a whole has been acknowledged across the board as a major issue and it seems financial professionals on every level are realizing that we all play a valuable role in the process of spotting fraud.

Working with brokers the likes of whom were vocal during Fraud Awareness Month can give you peace of mind that you are going to receive deals that close and are unlikely to have issues later. How can you know if you’re dealing with one of these types of brokers?

When interviewing new brokers – ask lots of questions. What is their position on mortgage fraud? Do they see mitigating mortgage fraud as one of their roles in the mortgage process? What tools do they deploy to combat mortgage fraud?

Also, sharing with brokers the tools you use to mitigate mortgage fraud (like Purviews fraud check as one example) is a great way for brokers to seek out broker versions of these tools so that your information is aligned with their information.

Increased alignment, dialogue and sharing on issues surrounding mortgage fraud in Canada lead to strong relationships and a healthier Canadian financial industry.

When it comes to conquering mortgage fraud, we all play a roll, and working together makes it that much easier. Check out how Purview For Lenders contributes to the challenge: http://lenders.purview.ca/. 

HPI Monthly Report: Home Prices up 1% in August

In August the Teranet–National Bank National Composite House Price Index™ was up 1.0% from the previous month, an eighth consecutive monthly increase. The rise exceeded the 11-year August average of 0.9%. Prices were up on the month in six of the 11 metropolitan markets surveyed – 3.9% in Calgary, 2.4% in Hamilton, 1.6% in Toronto, 0.6% in Vancouver, Ottawa-Gatineau and Winnipeg. Prices were down on the month in Victoria (-0.3%), Halifax ( 0.4%), Edmonton and Montreal (−0.5%) and Quebec City (−1.1%). The composite index was at an all-time high in August for a sixth consecutive month, though only the Vancouver, Hamilton and Toronto component indexes were at an historical high in August. The resale market in those three centres is a seller’s market according to the Canadian Real Estate Association criterion of sales relative to new listings.

Teranet-National Bank National Composite House Price Index™

In August the composite index was up 5.4% from a year earlier, the highest 12-month increase since November 2014. The 12-month gain was well above the countrywide average in Vancouver (9.7%), Hamilton (8.8%) and Toronto (8.7%). It was below the average in Victoria (3.2%), Edmonton (0.8%) and Calgary (0.7%). Prices were down from a year earlier in Winnipeg and Ottawa-Gatineau (-0.4%), Montreal (-0,5%), Quebec City (-0.7%) and Halifax ( 1.4%).

For the full report including historical data, please visit: www.housepriceindex.ca.

What Could Average Canadian Debt Mean to FIs Across the Board?

It can’t be denied that Canadian debt levels continue to skyrocket. Just about every news outlet from the CBC to Global has reported on this trend. Economists and even the Prime Minister has chimed.

Take a look at the infographic below produced by Equifax, according to an article released by Global News last, consumer debt is up in every single province: year http://globalnews.ca/news/1544506/infographic-debt-levels-jump-sharply-east-of-ontario/.  With the exception of Manitoba and Quebec, all provinces are seeing an average over $20,000.00.

The CBC released an article earlier this past summer that suggests that Canadians are continuing to rack up their household debt. The article looks at household debt which includes mortgages, lines of credit and credit card debt vs. consumer debt which is highlighted in the above infographic. The article sites a BMO annual debt report that resulted in the average debt of those surveyed as sitting at a staggering $92,699 which is $4,000 higher than the previous 4 year average: http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canadian-households-are-racking-up-more-debt-poll-suggests-1.3146766.

What does this skyrocketing household debt mean to FIs across Canada? This in itself is a very complicated question with many variables that include performance in the capital markets (oil), interest rates, job growth, performance of the dollar and much, much more.

Economists from both BMO and RBC this last quarter called for rate cuts from the Bank of Canada citing signs of a faltering recovery http://www.bnn.ca/News/2015/7/8/Bank-of-Montreal-and-RBC-join-Bank-of-Canada-rate-cut-call.aspx. This occurred while an economist at TDCT went as far as to proclaim that Canada is in recession territory.

The top TD economist wasn’t alone in his sentiment according to this article in the BNN: http://www.bnn.ca/News/2015/7/6/TD-Bank-flip-flopped-on-Canadas-economic-outlook-over-the-weekeend.aspx. Apparently Bank of America Merrill Lynch has said Canada ‘appears’ to have slumped into a recession. According to the article, CIBC called it “a real possibility.”

Add to this the fact that, while economists have mixed emotions on the state of the economy and Canadians are carrying more debt than ever, this past summer the Huffington Post also reported that, according to Stats Canada, while the economy grew – incomes stagnated: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/07/08/canadian-income-survey-2013_n_7754884.html. The report noted “The median after-tax income of Canadian households was $53,500 in 2013, up by just $100 from 2012, according to StatsCan’s Canadian IncomeSurvey.”

Interest rates continue to be a hot topic when it comes to lending - and continuous changes mean constantly having to stay on top with current trends. Purview For Lenders can help - visit lenders.purview.ca today.

Training Time – How to Use the AVM Component in Purview

Did you know that when you generate a Purview Report the component that provides the value range is in fact the Automated Valuation Model for your subject property?

You can even change your parameters to include a customized valuation model for the Province of Ontario. If a customized model does exist, by default, each estimate value for a subject property located in the Province of Ontario will be generated using your company’s customized model.

This step by step video tutorial will help you learn the ABCs of generating AVMs using Purview