Fixed Mortgage Rates Are Falling
  
While rates have been steadily climbing for variable mortgages, fixed mortgage rates have been moving in the opposite direction.
Specific lenders and national brokerages have been gradually dropping rates for select terms since the start of the month. As a result, average nationally-available deep-discount 5-year fixed mortgage rates are now about 20 basis points lower than earlier in the month, according to data from MortgageLogic.news.
The move follows the recent decline in the 5-year Government of Canada bond yield, which typically leads fixed mortgage rates.
The 5-year bond yield closed at 3.05% on Monday, bouncing back slightly from a 5-month low of 2.80% reached last week. Still, yields are down from about 3.40% four weeks ago, and the 14-year high of 3.89% reached in October.
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Tax-Free First Home Savings Account (FHSA)
The Tax-Free First Home Savings Account (FHSA) is a savings account for home purchases. It's a new registered plan allowing first-time homebuyers to save up to $40,000 tax-free. This new account is expected to be implemented in 2023, but there are still some unanswered questions about the details.
Here's what we know so far:
- Age limit: You should open your FHSA before reaching 71 years old, or it can be opened for 15 years.
- Contributions, deductions and taxes: Unlike an RRSP, which allows contributors within the first 60 days of the following year, all your FSHA contributions should be made before December 31st for current-year deductions.
- Deductions can be carried forward to future years to reduce taxable income.
- Once the account is opened, unused portions of the annual contribution limit will be allowed to be carried forward up to $8,000. This means that an individual who makes less than $8,000 in contributions in one year could contribute the following year, their annual contribution limit of $8,000 plus $8,000 minus their contributions made in the previous year (subject to their lifetime contribution limit).
More details and examples can be found here.
New Anti-Flipping Rule
Under the proposed new rules, where there has been a disposition of a “flipped property,” any gain realized is taxable as business income and not as a capital gain.
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