Human Resources committee  I do not believe so. In terms of completions, my numbers state that there were 187,000 houses completed in 2023. I know that there's a really aggressive plan to build more homes in regard to the housing accelerator fund, but I think that, in the majority of the municipalities that I looked through, those are more welfare programs than actual building programs.

Human Resources committee  Variable rates have been really scary for many Canadians over the last little bit. For many of my clients, we have counselled them as they go through this. While their rates are going up and their payments are increasing, we have recommended switching products to them, so a lot of people have actually moved away from variable products into fixed products over the last two years in order to help them with that payment pain.

Human Resources committee  With the help of a professional, most people can still afford their mortgage. When it comes to going to private lenders or alternative lenders, that's where the challenges become more prominent, when somebody may no longer qualify and their mortgage rate is excessive.

Human Resources committee  There are a lot of inaccuracies. I would say that most Canadians who come to us for a mortgage who are not experienced investors do not have strong financial literacy and lack those skills. It's a lot of guiding, explaining and educating people in order to help them get the right products.

Human Resources committee  Yes. In terms of qualifying, many people are not qualifying for the home they want. Then, for those people who already have an existing home, it's very difficult to actually move to a different company or a different lender at their point of renewal. When it comes to renewal time, a lot of these people aren't qualifying.

Human Resources committee  I would say that you have to be able to use market rents on properties. One of the challenges there may be qualifying the property with market rents in order to qualify for more income or substantial income to be able to afford the home. That would probably require different changes to how we utilize qualification materials.

Human Resources committee  No.

Human Resources committee  No, I think it's going to be very challenging given the increases in property values, despite the fact that you can now withdraw some extra money. I think that only really results in about $3,000 of savings in terms of the taxes that you'd get deducted. For many of these people, the struggle they are having is actually in coming up with that 5% to 20%.

Human Resources committee  Yes, absolutely. Now that people are getting wary of the fact that the Bank of Canada may decrease rates, a lot of people are looking for pre-approvals right now, because they are trying to get into the market before it really heats up.

Human Resources committee  In terms of pre-approvals, it's usually a sign of bidding wars. It's usually a sign that the market's becoming more competitive and that people are concerned about affordability.

Human Resources committee  In my career...yes.

Human Resources committee  In regard to that question, I would say that it has become less transparent. There is a lack of transparency when we tell people that rates are going to stay low and then they immediately go up by 4% over the course of the next two years. Certainly, that's not transparency, and I'm not sure whether it's specific to the Bank of Canada making those decisions or premonitions, or whether it has to do with different people in the federal government making those claims.

Human Resources committee  In terms of the housing that's been bought and built in the last few years, most Canadians prefer to buy townhomes and detached homes. In the last few years, condominiums have been on a surplus. These are not the right kinds of homes for young families and the people who are trying to utilize the first-time homebuyers' plan.

Human Resources committee  Certainly when you're looking at rates close to 0.9% several years ago—in 2022—compared to 5.95% today, that's a dramatic difference. When it comes to affordability, you have to qualify not only at the rate, but at the rate plus 2% in many cases. For many people, that qualification standard does not allow you to qualify for the mortgage you need to buy the home you want.

Human Resources committee  These days, everybody tries to use a broker, so I think it has changed dramatically. It used to be very skilled and knowledgeable people using brokers. These days, it's everyone. We go from educating new clients and explaining to them how mortgages work, all the way up to experienced buyers who are using us to get the best rates.