Mortgages St. John’s, Newfoundland And Labrador

The Canadian Mortgage Stress Test in 2024

📅 Last Updated: December 9, 2021

✏️ Written By Bryan Daly

🕵️ Fact-Checked by Caitlin Wood

Table of Contents show

Mortgages St. John’s - Compare Providers

		Loan Amount	Rate	Term (Months)	Rating
0	0	Up to $50,000	Prime – 46.96%	3 - 120	Up to $50,000
100	1709683200	up to $1,250	12%-32%	90 - 150 days	up to $1,250
23	1700524800	$5,000 - $25,000	24.99% - 29.99%	30 or 60	$5,000 - $25,000
15	1695254400	$1250	16.06% (nominal) - 31.99% (effective)	3 - 5	$1250
11	1692748800	Up to $250	0%	Up to 61 days	Up to $250
8	1688083200	$150 - $1,600	10 - 35%	3 - 6	$150 - $1,600
100	1686182400	$300 - $3,000	18% + fees	6	$300 - $3,000
100	1686182400	$300 - $3,000	18% + fees	6	$300 - $3,000
100	1686182400	$300 - $3,000	18% + fees	6	$300 - $3,000
6	1683676800	$15,000	6.7%	Up to 60 months	$15,000
1	1670889600	$1,000 - $10,000	19.9% - 46.9%	-	$1,000 - $10,000
7	1666051200	$150	0%	-	$150
100	1643932800	$500 - $15,000	+18.9% APR	6 - 60	$500 - $15,000
13	1639094400	$1,000 - $15,000	29.9% - 46.9% APR	12 - 60	$1,000 - $15,000
30	1637280000	$5,000 - $50,000	5.75% - 22.99%	Up to 84	$5,000 - $50,000
100	1623369600	Varies	0%	6 or 8 weeks	Varies
2	1620777600	Up to $35,000	9.99% - 46.96%	6 - 60	Up to $35,000
17	1607558400	$500 - $50,000	6.99% - 46.99%	12 - 36	$500 - $50,000
100	1600646400	$1,000-$7,500	12.99% - 29.99%	24 - 60	$1,000-$7,500
100	1598918400	$1,000 - $15,000	-	-	$1,000 - $15,000
100	1598832000	$500 – $15,000	+ 25.99%	9 - 60	$500 – $15,000
100	1595980800	$200 - $1,200	25% - 32%	-	$200 - $1,200
100	1593561600	-	0+	2 - 60	-
100	1582243200	-	-	Up to 60	-
100	1580947200	-	-	-	-
100	1580860800	$500 - $5,000	-	12 - 24	$500 - $5,000
100	1580860800	$350 - $1,000	-	2 - 12 weeks	$350 - $1,000
9	1580860800	$1,600 - $25,000	19.99% APR	36 - 60	$1,600 - $25,000
16	1580774400	$1,000 - $25,000	7.5% - 31.5% APR	36 - 60	$1,000 - $25,000
100	1579478400	$100 - $1,500	-	-	$100 - $1,500
100	1579478400	Up to $5,000	29.78% - 44.8%	36 months	Up to $5,000
100	1579219200	$100 - $25,000	+4.9%	-	$100 - $25,000
100	1576713600	-	Up to 35%	-	-
18	1576713600	$500 - $100,000	6.99% - 14.99%	12 - 240	$500 - $100,000
100	1575590400	1800- 2900	15.99%	23 - 36	1800- 2900
100	1562198400	$500 - $15,000	15.99 - 39.99%	6 - 60	$500 - $15,000
100	1560124800	Up to $15,000	29.99% - 46.96%	9 - 60	Up to $15,000
17	1545955200	Up to $20,000	18.99% - 24.99%	36 - 84	Up to $20,000
19	1552262400	$1,000 - $15,000	29.9% or 46.90%	6 - 60	$1,000 - $15,000
100	1551830400	$100 - $1,000	546% APR	14 days	$100 - $1,000
100	1569974400	$500 - $50,000	15 - 30%	-	$500 - $50,000
100	1551830400	$1,000 - $15,000	19% - 46.95%	6 - 60	$1,000 - $15,000
100	1551398400	$500 - $1,000	28% - 32%	-	$500 - $1,000
100	1551398400	-	-	14 days	-
18	1546128000	Up to $5,000	19.9% - 45.9% APR	6 - 36	Up to $5,000
100	1551139200	$5,000 - $35,000	9.9%+	6 - 60	$5,000 - $35,000
15	1551139200	Up to $15,000	19.99% APR	Open-end	Up to $15,000
100	1550534400	$300 - $25,000	7.95%+	36 - 60	$300 - $25,000
100	1550534400	Up to $1,500	Up to 59% APR	14 days	Up to $1,500
100	1550534400	$500 - $1,000	28% - 32%	3 -5	$500 - $1,000
100	1550534400	$300 - $1,000	38% APR	3 - 4	$300 - $1,000
100	1549411200	$100 - $1,000	546% APR	14 days	$100 - $1,000
100	1567555200	$300 - $3,000	18% + fees	6	$300 - $3,000
100	1549238400	$500 - $1,000	28% - 32%	4 - 5	$500 - $1,000
100	1549238400	$250 - $1,000	29% APR	3 - 4	$250 - $1,000
20	1548720000	$500 - $1,000,000	7.9%	12	$500 - $1,000,000
100	1548720000	$1,000 - $50,000	4.6% – 49.96%	3 - 60	$1,000 - $50,000
100	1548633600	$300 - $7,500	29.9% - 39.9%	6 - 60	$300 - $7,500
100	1548633600	$50 - $1,500	-	14 days	$50 - $1,500
100	1545955200	Up to $20,000	19% - 49%	36 - 48	Up to $20,000
16	1545264000	$2,000 - $10,000	18.9% - 54.9%	12 - 60	$2,000 - $10,000
5	1545264000	$500 - $10,000	12.99% – 39.99%	9 – 36	$500 - $10,000
2	1543622400	Up to $50,000	19.99% - 39.99%	6 - 120	Up to $50,000
10	1545264000	$500 - $12,500	19.99%+	12 - 60	$500 - $12,500
100	1545350400	Up to $1000	30%	3 - 5	Up to $1000
100	1545350400	Up to $5,000	60%	6 - 60	Up to $5,000
100	1545350400	Up to $7,000	-	6 – 60	Up to $7,000
100	1545350400	$500 - $2,500	29% - 46.95%	6 - 36	$500 - $2,500
5	1545350400	$500 - $1000+	28%-32%	3	$500 - $1000+
100	1545350400	$500 – $750	28% – 34.4%	3	$500 – $750
100	1545350400	$500 – $750	23% - 34.4%	3 – 12	$500 – $750
100	1545350400	$300 - $1500	27% - 35%	3 - 4	$300 - $1500
4	1545264000	$500 - $100,000	Starting at 29.99%	9 - 84	$500 - $100,000
3	1545264000	Up to $3,500	47.72%	-	Up to $3,500
10	1545177600	$1,000 - $35,000	5.99% - 29.19%	36 - 60	$1,000 - $35,000
18	1545177600	$100 - $20,000	Up to 46.8%	Up to 60	$100 - $20,000

		Loan Amount	Rate	Term (Months)	Rating
0	0	Up to $50,000	Prime – 46.96%	3 - 120	Up to $50,000
2	1669852800	$5,000 - $300,000	-	3 - 24 months	$5,000 - $300,000
100	1648512000	$10,000 - $250,000	Varies	6-12	$10,000 - $250,000
100	1620345600	-	-	12 - 60	-
100	1611878400	$5,000 - $30,000,000	-	Up to 18	$5,000 - $30,000,000
17	1607558400	$500 - $50,000	6.99% - 46.99%	6 - 36	$500 - $50,000
100	1598918400	-	-	-	-
100	1585612800	-	0.9% - 12%	6 months - 5 years	-
100	1581984000	$10,000 - $10,000,000	6% - 12.5%	-	$10,000 - $10,000,000
100	1581033600	-	-	-	-
100	1581033600	-	-	-	-
100	1580947200	-	-	-	-
100	1580947200	$10,000 - $1,000,000	-	-	$10,000 - $1,000,000
100	1580860800	-	-	-	-
100	1580860800	-	-	-	-
100	1580860800	-	-	-	-
100	1580860800	-	-	-	-
100	1580860800	$5,000 - $1,000,000	-	-	$5,000 - $1,000,000
100	1580860800	-	-	-	-
100	1580860800	-	-	-	-
100	1580860800	up to $250,000	-	-	up to $250,000
100	1580860800	-	-	-	-
100	1580688000	Up to $10,000	-	-	Up to $10,000
100	1580256000	$5,000 - $500,000	-	6 - 18 months	$5,000 - $500,000
100	1579478400	-	-	-	-
100	1579478400	$10,000- $30,000,000	Min 4.95%	-	$10,000- $30,000,000
100	1579478400	-	-	12 - 120	-
100	1579478400	-	-	24 to 60	-
100	1579478400	-	-	-	-
100	1579478400	-	-	-	-
100	1579046400	-	-	-	-
100	1577059200	-	-	-	-
100	1577059200	-	-	-	-
100	1577059200	-	-	-	-
100	1575849600	$5,000 - $150,000	15% +	6 - 24	$5,000 - $150,000
100	1575849600	Up to $250,000	-	-	Up to $250,000
100	1575590400	-	-	-	-
100	1575590400	-	-	-	-
1	1545955200	$5,000 - $150,000	Fee-Based: Starting at 9%	12 - 60	$5,000 - $150,000
100	1552262400	Up to $250,000	-	Up to 10 years	Up to $250,000
100	1552262400	-	-	-	-
100	1552262400	Up to $1,000,000	-	-	Up to $1,000,000
100	1551830400	$10,000+	-	Up to 15 years	$10,000+
100	1551830400	Up to $1,000,000	-	Up to 15 years	Up to $1,000,000
100	1551830400	Up to $500,000	-	Up to 10 years	Up to $500,000
100	1551830400	$5,000 - $10,000	-	Up to 7 years	$5,000 - $10,000
100	1551398400	$3,500+	-	-	$3,500+
100	1551398400	$10,000 - $1,000,000	4% - 14%	12 - 84	$10,000 - $1,000,000
100	1551139200	Up to $75,000	-	Up to 18	Up to $75,000
100	1550534400	$500-$50,000	0.5% weekly	12 week cycles	$500-$50,000
100	1550534400	$1,000 - $1,000,000	6% - 20%	-	$1,000 - $1,000,000
100	1550534400	Up to $5,000,000	4.5%	24 - 72	Up to $5,000,000
100	1550534400	$5,000 - $200,000	-	-	$5,000 - $200,000
100	1549411200	$50,000 - $12,000,000	-	24 - 96	$50,000 - $12,000,000
100	1549411200	$5,000 - $1,000,000+	-	1 - 60	$5,000 - $1,000,000+
100	1549238400	$5,000 - $1,000,000	-	3 - 24	$5,000 - $1,000,000
100	1548720000	$5,000 - $5,000,000	-	4 - 18	$5,000 - $5,000,000
100	1548720000	Up to $100,000	6.05% +	60	Up to $100,000
100	1548720000	$10,000+	18% - 22%	-	$10,000+
100	1548720000	$10,000 - $300,000	4.70% - 5.45%	-	$10,000 - $300,000
10	1545177600	$1,000 - $35,000	5.6% – 25.5%	36 – 60	$1,000 - $35,000
100	1545264000	$5,000 - $250,000	-	3-18	$5,000 - $250,000
100	1545264000	$5,000 - $150,000	-	3 - 24	$5,000 - $150,000
6	1545350400	$5,000 – $100,000	15% +	12 – 18	$5,000 – $100,000
100	1545264000	$5,000 – $100,000	Starting at 6.87%	3 – 18	$5,000 – $100,000
5	1545177600	$5,000-$250,000	8% - 29% APR	6 - 18	$5,000-$250,000
4	1545177600	$5,000 – $500,000	Starting at 5.9%	3 – 60	$5,000 – $500,000
5	1545264000	$500 - $10,000	12.99% – 39.99%	9 – 36	$500 - $10,000
100	1561507200	Up to $300,000	-	-	Up to $300,000

		Loan Amount	Rate	Term (Months)	Rating
0	0	Up to $50,000	Prime – 46.96%	3 - 120	Up to $50,000
3	1632960000	Up to $50,000	15.99% +	12 -72	Up to $50,000
8	1624233600	Up to $50,000	29.99% – 46.96%	12 - 96	Up to $50,000
17	1607558400	$500 - $50,000	-	24 - 60	$500 - $50,000
100	1600646400	$1,000-$7,500	12.99% - 29.99%	12 - 84	$1,000-$7,500
100	1594339200	-	-	-	-
100	1581033600	-	+ 4.9%	-	-
100	1581033600	-	-	-	-
100	1580688000	-	-	-	-
100	1579478400	-	-	-	-
100	1579478400	-	-	-	-
100	1578873600	-	+8.99%	-	-
100	1578873600	-	-	-	-
100	1551830400	$5,000 - $10,000	-	up to 84	$5,000 - $10,000
100	1552262400	Up to $250,000	-	12 - 60	Up to $250,000
100	1552262400	Up to $1,000,000	-	up to 96	Up to $1,000,000
100	1551830400	Up to $100,000	-	6 - 96	Up to $100,000
100	1551830400	$10,000+	-	12 - 96	$10,000+
100	1551830400	Up to $1,000,000	-	up to 96	Up to $1,000,000
100	1577059200	-	-	up to 72	-
100	1577059200	-	-	-	-
100	1575849600	-	Starting at 4%	Up to 84	-
100	1575849600	$5000 - $45,000	4.90 % - 29.95% APR	36 - 72	$5000 - $45,000
100	1575849600	-	-	-	-
100	1575590400	-	-	-	-
100	1575590400	-	-	-	-
100	1575504000	-	-	-	-
6	1569974400	$7500 - $59,995	3.95% +	12 - 96	$7500 - $59,995
100	1562112000	-	Up to 49.9%	-	-
100	1561507200	-	-	-	-
100	1561507200	-	-	Up to 84	-
1	1560124800	Up to $100,000	3.99% - 19.9%	24 -96	Up to $100,000
100	1548720000	-	-	-	-
100	1548633600	-	4.2%+	-	-
100	1545955200	Up to $20,000	19% - 49%	36 - 48	Up to $20,000
5	1545264000	$500 - $10,000	12.99% – 39.99%	9 – 36	$500 - $10,000
100	1545177600	Up to $50,000	-	-	Up to $50,000
100	1545177600	$5,000 – $40,000	-	12 – 72	$5,000 – $40,000
100	1545177600	-	-	Maximum 84	-

		Loan Amount	Rate	Term (Months)	Rating
0	0	Up to $50,000	Prime – 46.96%	3 - 120	Up to $50,000
100	1578873600	$1,000 - $35,000	-	24 - 60	$1,000 - $35,000
100	1545955200	Up to $20,000	19% - 49%	36 - 48	Up to $20,000
100	1545264000	Up to $25,000	-	12 - 60	Up to $25,000

		Loan Amount	Rate	Term (Months)	Rating
0	0	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
5	1700524800	-	-	-	-
100	1695772800	-	-	-	-
4	1690934400	Varies	5.54%+	Varies	Varies
2	1688601600	Min $100,000	5.34%+	2 - 10 years	Min $100,000
100	1627344000	-	1.94% - 2.45%	12 - 60	-
100	1581033600	-	2.74% - 6.30%	12 - 120	-
100	1580947200	-	-	-	-
100	1580860800	-	-	-	-
100	1580860800	-	2.64% - 4.45%	12 - 120	-
100	1580860800	$50,000+	2.74% - 3.49%	12- 120	$50,000+
100	1580860800	-	-	-	-
100	1580860800	-	-	-	-
100	1580688000	-	2.79% - 6.00%	6 - 60	-
100	1579478400	-	2.74% - 3.70%	6 - 120	-
100	1578873600	-	-	-	-
100	1578873600	-	2.69% - 3.95%	6 - 120	-
100	1577059200	-	-	-	-
100	1577059200	-	2.84% - 7.30%	-	-
100	1574899200	min 25,000	3.89.% - 4.84%	12 - 60	min 25,000
100	1560124800	-	2.89% - 3.79%	-	-
100	1548720000	-	2.41% - 3.84%	-	-
1	1517097600	$10,000+	Based on equity	-	$10,000+

		Services	Rating
0	0	Debt Consolidation Program, Debt Settlement Program, Consumer Proposal, Bankruptcy Consultation	N/A (Referrer)
100	1576540800	Credit Counselling, Bankruptcy, Consumer Proposal
100	1576540800	Credit Counselling, Debt Management Program
100	1576368000	Credit Counselling, Debt Management Program
100	1576454400	Debt Restructuring, After Care - Credit Rebuilding Program, Corporate Debt Restructuring

Newfoundland and Labrador’s provincial capital of St. John’s has been seeing lots of affordable housing in recent years compared to other major cities in Canada. However, even an “affordable” home in St. John’s can still cost well over $300,000. As a result, most of those aspiring homeowners in St. John’s are going to need a mortgage.

Check out this infographic to learn about the cost of buying a house in Canada.

Comparing Mortgage Offers in St. John’s

As affordable housing is a valuable commodity in Canada, you’re likely to find plenty of mortgage lenders and mortgage brokers throughout the city of St. John’s. While the mortgaging process is more or less the same in every province, every lender or broker is going to offer different mortgage rates, terms, and conditions. Although rates are often the main thing on prospective St. John’s homeowners’ minds when searching for mortgages, there are other factors to consider before you yourself apply, including but not limited to:

Amortization Periods

This refers to the total amount of time that you’re mortgaging a property for. Generally, the average amortization on a Canadian house is 20-30 years. However, some mortgage lenders in St. John’s allow for periods of up to 35 years. It’s very important to factor the length of your amortization into your budget, as you will be in debt the entire time.

Wondering how long you should amortize your home for? Look here for the answer.

Term Lengths

Once you’re approved, your mortgage will be divided into “terms”. Within each term, you’ll pay a certain rate and hold a contract with a specific lender in St. John’s. Terms can last anywhere from 6 months to 10 years. When your term ends, you can either renew your contract with your current lender in St. John’s or apply with a new one to secure better rates.

Read this to learn the differences between your mortgage term and your amortization.

Possibility of Prepayments

Your mortgage allows you to finance your home over time through installments. However, you don’t totally own the home until all payments have been made. As such, many home buyers in St. John’s prefer to pay off their mortgage as quickly as possible.

This can be done by negotiating a payment schedule that involves larger installments and a shorter amortization, or in this case, through prepayments. Essentially, prepayments allow you to invest additional money into your mortgage while your term is still ongoing, helping you get out of debt faster. That said, not all lenders or brokers in St. John’s allow prepayments, as they would be losing money. Those that do may charge you a penalty for modifying your contract. Be sure to ask your lender about these issues if you think that prepayments are a possibility for you in the future.

Thinking about paying off your mortgage early? Consider this first.

Open vs. Closed Mortgages

Some lenders in St. John’s may also allow you to choose between an open and closed mortgage, both of which have specific conditions that can also affect your financial profile.

Closed mortgages involve restrictions that you must follow to avoid breaching your contract. You won’t be able to refinance or renegotiate your mortgage until the end of a term, without a penalty. However, your interest rate will be lower than with an open mortgage, which will save you money.
Open mortgages are generally accompanied by more flexible contract conditions and payments. While this type of flexibility often leads to a higher risk for the lender, and therefore less reasonable interest rates, you will have the option of paying down your mortgage whenever you want, penalty-free.

Fixed vs. Variable Interest Rates

Now we come to the most common issue for home buyers in St. John’s and most Canadians in general, their interest rate. Though the rate you receive will vary based on factors such as your income, credit health, and lender’s policies, there are two different kinds of interest rate you can go with:

Fixed rates mean that your mortgage payments will not change during your term. In many cases, a fixed rate will be slightly higher than a variable one but will be easier to calculate and budget for, since you’ll know exactly how much your payments will come out to.
Variable rates mean that your payments can fluctuate during your term because they will be based on the Bank of Canada’s prime rate, which goes up and down with the country’s economic conditions. Although this will make it harder to calculate your payments, it’s possible to save money when the prime rate drops.

Here’s why the lowest mortgage rate may not actually be what you need.

Appropriate Credit Score for Mortgage Approval

As we mentioned, a factor that can affect your interest rate, approval chances, and contract conditions is your credit health. This is because certain parts of your credit profile, namely your credit score, are used by lenders as proof of your ability to keep up with loan payments. Since your mortgage involves a significant amount of money, your lender in St. John’s will check your credit score to see how creditworthy you are.

What does it mean when you have a credit score of 780? Look here to know.

Your score ranges from 300 to 900 and is assigned to you when you start using credit products. It goes up when you make responsible payments and down when you make irresponsible ones. While lending standards differ from lender to lender in St. John’s, a recent change in Canadian mortgage rules indicates that 600 would be the minimum credit score for approval on mortgages that are less than $1M. If you apply for a larger mortgage or borrow money for your down payment, many lenders will raise their limit to 650.

For even more information about credit score, take a look at this infographic.

The Frequency of Your Mortgage Payments

Another important factor to discuss with your lender is how frequently you’ll be making your upcoming payments. Remember, the faster and larger your payments are, the quicker you’ll be out of debt. On the other hand, if you can’t afford those payments, you can end up in debt, leading to a greater risk of foreclosure.

Want to know how a foreclosure would affect your credit score? Click this link.

The most common mortgage payment frequencies are:

Monthly (12 payments/year) – Simple and effective, most homebuyers in St. John’s choose this frequency because it’s easy to budget for.
Weekly (52 payments/year) – For those who can afford it, making weekly payments is a good way of building your credit quickly.
Bi-weekly (26 payments/year) – Ideal for those with wage-based employment, where bi-weekly paychecks are common.
Accelerated weekly (52 larger payments/year) – Paying a quarter of your typical monthly payment every week will allow you to make one extra payment per year, thereby completing your mortgage faster.

Accelerated bi-weekly (26 larger payments/year) – This has the same effect as the accelerated weekly option, only you’ll be paying half your typical monthly payment every two weeks.

Look here for more information about these mortgage payment options.

Other Mortgage Types in St. John’s

Let’s discuss some of the other mortgage types that you may have access to in St. John’s. Again, every lender is different. Your bank might offer one kind of mortgage, while your broker or alternative source might offer another. Make sure to study up on all mortgage types to know which one is appropriate for you.

Conventional Mortgage

Though it’s not always the “conventional” choice for the average St. John’s home buyer, a conventional mortgage can be considered the most simple format. If you select this option, you’ll need to make a down payment equalling 20% or more of the home’s purchase price. As a result, you won’t need to buy default mortgage insurance.

Read this to discover the difference between a collateral and a conventional mortgage.

High-Ratio Mortgage

Ironically, this option is often a more conventional choice, as many home buyers simply cannot afford (or don’t want to make) a 20% or more down payment, which can be a significant amount if a home costs over $300,000. In this case, you would need to purchase default mortgage insurance through one of these providers:

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
Genworth Financial
Canada Guaranty Mortgage Insurance Company

For more information about high-ratio mortgages, look at this other article.

Second Mortgage

For those who are already mortgaging a home, there’s are two other mortgage products that you can access using your home equity. Both products are commonly referred to as “second mortgages” because they fall into the second position next to your original mortgage. Once the balance of your primary mortgage is paid off, you can have your second mortgage placed in first position:

Home equity loan – This allows you to access up to 80% of your available home equity via a lump sum of loan cash, which you would repay through installments over several years, usually with a fixed interest rate.
HELOC – A home equity line of credit allows you to borrow from a revolving credit limit, similar to a credit card. Again, you can typically get approved for a limit of up to 80% of your available home equity. You can then withdraw from it as needed and only pay a fixed or variable interest rate on what you’ve borrowed.

Bridge Loan

When you cannot get approved for a traditional mortgage with a bank due to bad credit, you can apply for a bridge loan with a private lender. This helps you access a short-term mortgage loan, which you can use to improve your credit. The goal would be to fix your credit score enough that you can qualify with an alternative lender for another short term, then eventually become eligible with a prime lender, like a bank.

Click here for more information about short-term mortgage financing and bridge loans.

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