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From Scarcity to Abundance

• Stella Ram • Season 1 • Episode 13

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🎙 NEW EPISODE: From Scarcity to Abundance – Let’s Get You Home! 🏡
Guest: Chris Bargis – Mortgage Broker & Financial Strategist

In today’s ever-changing real estate landscape, fear is loud — but strategy speaks louder. In this powerful episode of Talks How, we explore why housing remains a fundamental human need, and how buyers can shift from a mindset of scarcity to one of abundance and opportunity.

Joining us is mortgage expert Chris Bargis, who brings deep insight into the financial realities of 2025’s housing market. From the truth behind mortgage rates to the global trade dynamics influencing affordability, this episode is packed with real talk, winning tips, and actionable steps for anyone looking to buy — confidently and strategically.

🎯 Here’s what we cover:
 ✅ Buyer psychology: How fear vs. confidence is driving the market
 ✅ Mortgage rates, approvals & what’s really happening with affordability
 ✅ Global trade & economic uncertainty — what it means for real estate
 ✅ Winning buyer strategies & mindset tools for 2025
 ✅ How to align income, credit & savings to unlock buying power
 ✅ Real estate as a long-term wealth-building tool
 ✅ Programs that help — including down payment support & affordability solutions
 ✅ Where interest rates are heading & how to prepare NOW

Chris also shares his journey in finance, lending, and building trust through relationships — plus what buyers need to stop fearing and start doing today.

📢 This episode is a must-listen for first-time buyers, return buyers, investors, and anyone seeking clarity in a volatile market.

Let’s get real. Let’s get strategic. Let’s Get You Home. 🏡

🎧 Available now on all major platforms!

#RealEstatePodcast #MortgageTips #HomeBuying2025 #FinancialFreedom #TalksHow #Let’sGetYouHome #RealEstateCanada #MindsetMatters #WealthBuilding #DownPaymentHelp #AbundanceMindset #RealEstateStrategy #FirstTimeBuyer #HousingCrisis #CanadianRealEstate #MortgageAdvice #SmartHomeBuying #InterestRates2025 #ChrisBargis #PropertyGoals #FinancialPlanning #FromScarcityToAbundance

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let's shift out of fear let's talk real strategy something that people need to remember is what is your purpose for buying a property and getting into real estate don't try to time the market i don't think it's just about is this the right time to buy the buyer psychology uh has shifted from you know what it needs to be in the market right now there is genuine fear about what the economic outlook looks like when it comes to housing is a basic necessity real estate is meant to be a long-term illquid asset welcome back to another episode of the Stellar Talk Show where we unlock the truth behind real estate wealth and winning in life one honest conversation at a time i'm your host Stella Ram and today's episode is all about abundance over fear and getting a home that's right not just any home but the right one at the right time with the right strategy behind it because let's face it housing isn't just a market trend is a basic human need and in today's noisy world of headlines trades and interest rates affordability fears it's time we shift the narrative from scarcity to abundance you deserve to own your piece of future and this episode will help you move in that direction with clarity and confidence to make this conversation even more powerful I'm joined by our special guest someone who truly gets it from both sides of the mortgage game please welcome Chris Baris a powerhouse in Canada's mortgage industry chris brings a rare blend of financial expertise and heart chris doesn't just find people mortgages he builds strategies that save time grow wealth and full confidence whether you're a first-time home buyer upgrading your space or just trying to make sense of today's rates Chris is here to break it all down for you housing is not just a market trend it's a human necessity those who focus on strategy and mindset will come out stronger and more abundant let's shift out of fear let's talk real strategy and most of all let's get you home hi Chris welcome to the show thank you for having me Stella it's a pleasure to have you Chris um so as we were talking earlier as well um about the market trends right now especially for people who are still on the edge what are your thoughts on that i think that when we look at why people we have to look at why people are on the edge um there is a lot of fear out in the marketplace and I don't think it's just about is this the right time to buy it's not a matter of speculation and and timing it's more is it a good idea based on potential uncertainty u regarding the economy and people's financial status i mean I've had customers reaching out to me concerned about their employment their industry uh the way that information trickles to me is through their renewals people are reaching out a lot sooner we don't have to go too deep on renewals but um there is genuine fear about what the economic outlook looks like and as a result buying property has almost been like a secondary thought um and I'm I'm almost playing the role of economist sometimes now in these conversations which is a little tough um but there is a lot of fear out in the marketplace for sure yeah the bio psychology uh has shifted from you know what it needs to be in the market right now uh what do you think like the the the general public should be focusing on in today's market trends and where do you think the success happens i think that something that people need to remember is what is your purpose for buying a property and getting into real estate speculation should never be at the forefront of making an investment decision like that at the end of the day if you have a growing family um you're trying to get into a certain neighborhood you're you're planning on you need a place to live you're a new immigrant to Canada because even though an objective of the government is to reduce and pull back on immigration the reality is um the amount of people immigrating is not keeping pace with those that are still entering and gaining their PR status and those people need a place to live so if you are one of those people or a family the end of the day real estate is meant to be a long-term illquid asset your holding period should always be at least 5 to 10 years this isn't something that you get rid of in a year or two so if you think about it like a stock yes that's where the fear comes in if you think about it as this is a long-term investment for myself my family this is potentially a retirement strategy that there's arguments that can honestly help that fear dissipate because it's a tried and true measure of building wealth and that's how people have to look at it i'm not going to panic sell this thing this is something that I'm going to hold exactly exactly so as I was telling many people that I talked to as well when it comes to housing is a basic necessity like no matter where you are in um in your stage like if you're new to the country or like currently renting you're looking at thinking at that next stage end of the day you need a place to call home that you can come in which is affordable which gives you the stability and security so most definitely it's if you're thinking about buying a house in the financial ends of it only then of course the fear factor comes in but as you mentioned looking longterm and then having a good strategy towards that end goal that definitely gives more empowerment towards making that decision no matter what time that you are in the market absolutely and and to touch on the strategy piece the the one thing we always try to instill in people is be proactive about this process you know we we do have a lot of people coming to us sort of not I wouldn't say spur of the moment but they're saying I want to buy a house what do I do i want to buy within the next 6 months and sometimes even that's not quite enough planning because the biggest piece is first of all saving the down payment i mean over the past few years especially in 2021 2022 when we saw that unusual spike it was a very abnormal bubble almost tight market yes um we've seen the biggest transition of wealth um from the boomer generation downward so people are coming up with money and and resources the means to actually get into property but then there's the financial aspect um as long as you hone in on what your affordability truly looks like and don't just think about your housing costs think about everything that you spend money on in your life you know you don't want to be eating craft dinner for for a year um you know if you like to travel you like to go out for dinners um you're saving for your children's future through you know um you're expecting tuition payments to come up depending on how old your kids are right uh daycare costs anything think about your finances holistically and include your housing costs in there and that's one thing that we do is we help people budget their lives and incorporate their real estate around that you just need people need to become more financially literate which again that's something that we assist in um and as long as you as long as you assess your own risk tolerance and you clearly have parameters that you've set out for yourself um you don't really have anything to worry about from a financial perspective absolutely correct yeah that's how like the people that who are winning in today's market that's the strategies and the mindset that they thrive on exactly absolutely right so um Chris I I want to also ask you so behind mortgage rates the trades that's going on right now and with the recent election announcement and everything um approvals and affordability of mortgage what are the highlights there in your opinion at this time in the market well affordability is I mean one thing that we learned was that the stress test was actually a very pragmatic measure because when we were all complaining about how we saw rates at 1 to 2% back in 2021 and the you know the federal government or I say the bank of Canada required or we were required to use this benchmark rate of five and a quarter for the last few years well people today who are paying four and a half and sometimes 5% they've been able to withstand the the financial impact of those higher mortgage payments as a result of this stress test so affordability hasn't really changed default rates have not increase like the Canadians have been very resilient which which is a very good thing it shows that the government did make some good decisions um one thing I would say about just housing in general is it's interesting to see what the next few months are going to hold um even the next the next 12 months I would say because there's a lot of uncertainty still even post election um I would say that we call him the orange guy down south um I could talk a whole at great length about that um but the US is is we are very tightly connected to what happens in the US and because uh we're still uncertain about what's going to happen with tariffs and global trade specifically between Canada and the US um that is still of concern i would say rates right now they did see a very short-term spike but following the Canadian election we actually saw bond yields we've been seeing them steadily drop a little bit over the past couple of days that could translate to a slight decrease in fixed rates because lenders now have a little bit more profit margin to work with yes but really it's this zigzagging pattern that we're seeing it's not a guarantee that rates are going to come down significantly in any way by the end of the year there's still a lot that can happen and we're waiting to see what happens out of the US but now that our election is done that's one sort of modicum of uncertainty that is behind us yes um depending on whether you are a liberal a conservative an NDP or whatever um it'll be interesting to see what the current government that we've had for the past three terms is going to do um but again I'd say it's a big question mark for rates between now and the end of the year their economists still predicting that the Bank of Canada is going to cut uh by up to half a point there are those that are uncertain as to whether or not that will happen yeah no that's true that's true and you know those are the interesting um the roller coasters that we've been traveling you know in the near past right that's for sure yeah so this is why I when I talk to like my prospecting clients I tell them like don't try to time the market focus on the time that you have in the market right as long as that you have the savings that will get you through to your down payment and you have a strategy a plan and you're able to afford your mortgage payment after you speak to the experts like yourself then make the decision that is right for you and your family because you know what we have seen in history is no matter what the country has gone through like you know inflation economic crashes and things like that housing still stays at a very strong stable way of investment because you know as I mentioned before it's a basic need everybody needs a house and population keeps growing immigration keeps happening so no matter what happens that's a basic need that we all have to pay attention to absolutely no you hit it on the head which is focus on your time in the market and that goes back to what we touched on at the beginning which was um real estate is meant to be a long-term liquid asset when you think 5 to 10 years out no one thinks about their stock portfolio as 5 to 10 years the trend line even in the equity market Stella is is technically up it's a zigzagging pattern but it is generally up and the same thing is true for real estate as long as you you have to think about what your holding period is and as long as it is for the long term you really don't have to worry about short-term market fluctuations at the end of the day real estate is a tangible asset that's the thing it's not a piece of paper that you're trading it's a place that you live you can spend money to improve it you can add hard value to it there's so many things you can do and I think that's what people need to remember as you stated um when you're making a decision whether or not um getting into the market is is right for you what are your long-term objectives exactly and it's an asset that you hold like you know what hap like throws at you you have that extra boost you say okay now I have this asset that I can play with you don't have to worry too much you know if the uncertain thing happens in life right exactly that's what I like about investing in real estate um I want to ask you Chris um winning financial strategies and you know winning mind strategies in today's real estate market what have you seen like you know what's your advice and what what do you see out there as to the winners that's following at this time well one for starters just to echo what I had said before was being proactive and planning as far as you possibly can maybe not 2 years that's that's excessive but if you're planning on getting into the marketplace within I don't know the next 12 months let's say or it's a decision that you're thinking about talk to your bank a mortgage professional whoever it is get a financial wellness check um the other thing is understanding as we also touched on your household finances where all of your money goes and assessing okay are there places where you can make you maybe scale back where you're spending money um and that could help you accelerate your savings towards a potential down payment the one thing I would say I want to I want to share a a lack of winning strategy which is the whole concept of waiting but not knowing why you're waiting yes that's something people that cause a lot of people to lose out on because at the end of the day regardless of short-term fluctuations up or down the market moves at a pace that exceeds the rate a person or household will be able to save money m um inflation is a and and the increase in living costs are living proof of that when you go to the grocery store the grocery store prices are absolutely insane the tariffs are not going to help with various products so don't think you can outpace savings wise don't think you can outsave or outpace the rate at which real estate moves understand how much are you saving every month what do you qualify for today um if it's not what you need how much income are you missing how much in savings are you missing for your down payment what is that X factor what's it going to take to get you to your goal and build a road map that's the winning strategy is building a road map or having the assistance of somebody to help you build a road map instead of leaving things to chance assuming that maybe not today but maybe a year or two from now I'll be able to buy a home like don't pray and and hope you know throw your hopes to the wind cuz I can tell you it it won't work yeah and this is why it's important to talk to the experts to get the advice when you can and you know a lot of the times we know when you go for like you know public gatherings or like even for your family gatherings what you hear is uh I wish I did this like two years ago oh so nice yeah exactly right so don't be that person who would start the conversation like that be proactive take the step right talk to the people that who can guide you in the proper way um I want to share something uh with you as well Chris like you know when uh when I'm talking to my clients uh my friends when they tell me Stella I don't have that income mark but I do have the savings or I'm almost there in my savings to to take my next step um being creative around your strategies really helps in today's market especially because you know hey if you don't have that income if you're shying about let's say monthly about $2,000 $3,000 $2,000 let's say $2,000 um you can always looking look into a home which will also give you an income with a rental suite absolutely yeah so a lot of the people they don't think in that that strategical way but when they do and when when they see the potential that they have they don't see that until you sit down with someone who can break it down on paper for you absolutely you know this actually this is I'm glad that you brought that up because it's happened to a very recent customer of ours right like we had somebody who's looking uh in the golden horseshoe and they were limited by their down payment they had about $38,000 saved he had his parents as uh he was a young man uh in his early 20s he had his parents as co-signers who are self-employed it was really tough to make that work so we gave him options and said "Look if you don't have the 20% down payment um what you do have the option of is a different asset class have you talked to friends you can co-invest with people i' I've seen people do joint ventures we've helped them through joint ventures or straight up co- buying together um sometimes you can even rent a room if you're comfortable with the people in your immediate area you get some rental recapture that way there's other ways to help offset the the hard living costs like the housing costs to make it uh make it affordable to get into the market um you know basement suites are a big uh a big component to that but the other thing is down payment is where the discussion always starts for us right you can have as much income as you want you can make $300,000 a year but if you have $10,000 saved you'll probably save faster than most other people do but you can't do anything with $10,000 right that's the first thing so your savings are number one um if you have a down payment that's where the conversation sometimes becomes workable because now we can explore things like co-signers co-borrowers family might be willing to help maybe they don't have the means to financially support you but if you have the savings and they have the income maybe they're retired they're mortgage free you if they have a small mortgage even retirement income can help you qualify for a loan so we never tell people don't start with a defeist attitude and say oh I only have this much safe I can't do it get an assessment because you don't know what's possible until you talk to a professional exactly exactly i want to share so at stellarpropies.ca this is exactly the conversations we have with our clients and that's why we came to um a plan or a strategy to offer our clients um it's like hey like if you've been saving up because especially right now is a very good buyers market anybody who has been in the edge like looking for that perfect moment if you're financially able to and you're able to afford it this is the market you should be getting it as Sandy Mackey said uh in one of our previous um episodes as well 2025 is the year that you make it or break it right it is yeah it is it is one of those years that doesn't happen all the time i know there's a lot of uh uh intense news or headlines um talking about trades interest rates and things like that but when you when you have a strategic plan and as you mentioned down payment as a starter then you can plan something with the support of the experts so that's why we actually took the initiative of supporting them by giving back 1% of our earned commission towards the down payment that's amazing yes absolutely and with no catch that is incredible and you know what just to add to that um there actually are cashback programs on the lending side so we've seen this with insured mortgages so that is very generous of you and I think that's a huge help to your clientele um there are cash some some people actually think okay I've saved a certain amount of money but what if I have debts what if I have a student loan or a car loan i need a car unfortunately there's nothing I can do there are even cash back programs where you might pay a little bit more on the interest rate but the lender can go anywhere from two to three to even 4% of the mortgage amount in cash back and that can that conversely can be used for anything except down payment you can pay out debts you can apply it toward your land transfer tax your closing cost so now the money you've actually saved can go towards just the down payment because that's the one thing that you can't change the government allows up to 5% minimum down payment 5% on the first half a million dollars and then it's 10% on the excess purchase price over and above that so really if you're someone who is really pinched their pennies together and try to save you want as much of those dollars going towards the down payment itself as possible yes and there's obviously incentives like what you offer your clients and what lenders do here to try and help you take care of the rest if those are blockades having those conversations that's the key starter right if you don't have those conversation you're not going to learn about these strategies that is available and incentives available and you know it's just going to be on that side waiting till you know the change that you're waiting for absolutely and I don't mean to sound corny but knowledge really is power yes um a lot of people just don't have the knowledge because I can tell you even as a mortgage professional learning all the intricacies of all these programs that change on a regular basis by the way exactly um having that person who just eats lives sleeps sprees this stuff just have a conversation anyway it's not going to cost you anything it's like a 15-minute call you might leave learning information and say "Okay maybe my time isn't now but maybe it's a lot sooner than I thought it might be." Yeah and having a plan to get it get to where you want to be that's that's the mindset that you should be having most definitely um I want to ask also like you know I have I have said this multiple times but real estate has been one of the the biggest wealthb buildinging tools throughout history um and there's a reason behind that as I mentioned because everybody needs a home um it's stable nobody nobody can steal it from you uh it's not like buying gold like you know buying gold is a great investment i buy gold myself i invested in it but I like investing in real estate more because it's an asset that you can actually see and hold right um well if you buy gold bars you can certainly you can potential but but real estate is a different ball game like you know no if if you give me gold and real estate I'll go real estate first you can sleep at night with your gold bar but you can't really do much else with it exactly exactly so I want to ask you in your opinion based on what you have seen Chris like you know why it is what it is like why is real estate one of the biggest wealth building tools well think about if you've ever I've had investor clients like people who I've seen build their portfolio over the years these are the people who have the desire to go beyond just the primary residence like their house with their family these are people who have had a goal and said when I am done working I want to be able to generate passive income and not worry about my family i want to be able to travel i want to maintain my lifestyle or at least live whatever lifestyle I I want to enjoy past the age of 65 or whenever is you retire yeah I have seen people at scale property portfolios of let's say 10 12 properties and that's actually I'd say that's like that's a considerably large amount of properties to own sometimes it gets very strenuous to manage which is why property management companies exist yeah but people who are borderline mortgage free and have duplexes triplexes apartment buildings and are generating passive income you have to do nothing for this income in sums of $2 to $300,000 a year like imagine that you don't have to work and you're earning $200 to $300,000 a year and you just have to check in on tenants every so often and either manage buildings or pay someone to manage your buildings like there isn't anything like that i mean you'd have to put a sizable amount of cash in a GIC paying you you know your 3% or whatever it is at that future point of time and that rate of return changes just to get anything close to that you never will like you you never will because life has life throws all kinds of things at us and the amount of cash you plan to have aside isn't always you know it doesn't always work out that way that's the case yeah real estate's always there mhm rents go up and down but at the end of the day um there hasn't really been an asset class that has been able to subsidize people's retirement quite like real estate has exactly you know um I I remember my grandfather though used to say like when I was very young like he he was very into like buying land and you know one time I was asking like why land there's nothing on it like they don't make it anymore so they don't it's a scarce resource the only thing there's supply and demand which changes the value of real estate but as we know it that is the structure on the land land actually does not depreciate it does not land is the is one of the few things in that space where it will always go up in value always exactly because there's less of it exactly exactly so you know this conversation is very valuable Chris because you're touching on topics that needs to be heard uh because you know not in a day-to-day life like we don't hear this all the time unless otherwise we tune into a topic like this right so thank you very much for sharing that with me um I want to ask you what are some of accountable steps someone um it could be someone who's very young thinking about his future or someone in their midage like now thinking about um you know building a family or someone like you know retiring and thinking about next steps as to what how they want to um you know retire um and how to plan the future What are some accountable steps they can take at this time in this market to secure that and be have a winning mindset and win the game well you hit on a few different demographics and I would say that the strategies or the steps are a little bit different for each person depending on where you are in your journey but we can start with if you're someone who is very young maybe you're in your 20s and you just you know that you want to start creating that passive wealth strategy at some point for yourself in the future the goal is climb the property ladder getting into your first property which we've touched on throughout uh our our session today which is speak to somebody figure out how much you're able to save each month look at areas where you can cut back a little bit you know you're spending maybe you don't go out drinking as often in the week or maybe cut back on the expensive dinners or whatever it is whatever you spend your money on vacations um and focus on saving um if you're at the very start of your career you're only going to make more income with the passage of time it doesn't hurt to have an initial conversation with your bank or mortgage professional whether or not you're ready consider speaking to family like figure out where you are today and if you have family members that would like we said help cosign um even potentially financially support you until you're willing to have those discussions within your own household you don't know what people will say yes to like I've had I've had young customers that have said "Chris we're finally we think we're at the stages of being ready to buy a house." Yeah they have a conversation with their parents and they say "Oh well we never told you this but we set aside $100,000 that you know whatever it is that we were prepared to gift you when you were ready." Show that you're serious if you're serious about your journey start the discussions with a mortgage professional start it with your real estate professional start it with your family and watch what kind of plan can actually come together yeah for those who are later in their journey who maybe own the one property maybe they've built up a lot of equity they're either thinking about retiring or you know they just they're at that stage where maybe they're they've got kids they're starting to get older they want to create some sort of retirement plan not just for themselves but find a way to get assets that they can pass on to their kids you'd be amazed at how far um the equity in your home can go we teach people how to use leverage without overexerting themselves overextending themselves how they can use leverage in properties that they've owned for years to either buy more properties that they can turn into income properties and eventually pass those on to their kids maybe when your kids go to university or college or wherever it's a place they can live in for a period in time right my parents did that for me and that's where I learned you know my strategies as well um have the conversations though you would be amazed at what you can do with the equity in your home yeah no amazing and when it comes to retirement like what are what are some of the strategies that you will advise at this time anybody looking to downsize or like you know take the use of equity that they have built know working so hard all these years yeah absolutely so there's there's honestly there's a whole array of strategies one thing we've seen is of course the natural first thought that comes to mind is oh if I'm downsizing I'm going to sell my house i'm going to hopefully be mortgage free or have a very small mortgage right on the next property that's obviously one way that you can go about funding your retirement yeah um the other that we've seen is if somebody depending on what kind your income is in retirement you know civil servants public service workers tend to have very good pensions right they can rely on that what we've seen some folks do is try to hold on to their property perhaps refinance it get a get a smaller mortgage uh depends on how much less you're buying for than what you currently own um buying that property in cash turning their their larger house that they're moving out of into an income property maybe a a young or or new family that wants to move in as long as that property can carry itself you now have two homes which one or both of you can pass on to your kids your grandkids in retirement we've done that for a lot of people right there's a lot that is available to people thinking about retirement it's just it's a discussion amazing that's some that's very valuable information that you share Chris like you know you're actually giving that uh the the important points but you're giving that with your uh daily experience as well which is bringing more value to the conversation um so before we end it I want to get some quick tips from you so um for anybody who's looking for a mortgage today uh where do they need to start and what are their focuses should be on uh there's there's three main areas that we look at and banks look at when they're qualifying you so the the three things are income down payment credit down payment i say assets but assets is kind of part of down payment so one thing I would say is this has been the theme throughout this our entire session together which I love cuz people can't hear this enough just start the conversation go to your bank go to a mortgage professional whoever it is that you trust ideally get a referral from someone within you know your friend network whoever that that you can trust um who you know does a good job and find out where you're at today um figure out and and build that road map figure out if you're not ready today what you need to do to get to your goal within 6 months 12 months or however long it is um you don't you don't know what you don't know right you don't you you need to know where your baseline is um that's honestly the the first thing that I would do mortgage rates that that's the first thing that people often ask about rates are rates are they're going to change they're going to go up and down you renegotiate your mortgage contract every 1 to 5 years that really is less important the stress test is not necessarily going away anytime soon it's shown that it's actually helped Canadians stay resilient yeah but again find out where you're at today with all these rules which might be subject to change you know in the in the coming months or years um just get a wellness check it cost you nothing it's going to take you you know what maybe in total from start to finish like one or two hours of your time yes um and there's lots of people like myself other mortgage professionals bankers who are willing to help you right that's where you should start yes and if you don't mind me adding this to that is like you know if you are thinking about having that conversation with an expert like Chris don't make any major purchases first have the conversation before you make that purchase because that really helps too yes don't go buy a car god I can't tell you how at least people sometimes we have people ask us I'm thinking about purchasing a vehicle or I'm thinking about taking out a loan um you know is this a good idea so the short version is credit is one of the most important categories your income is less controllable unless you're switching jobs right now that we're hitting on specific categories down payment you you need to focus on your saving credit protect your credit um don't go co-signing any loans for people or family if you're thinking about getting into the market um you know don't go get a vehicle if you can avoid it um if you're if you're if you have a vehicle but you're approaching the end of your lease term or your financing term and you're going to own the vehicle outright that's a positive thing talk to a mortgage professional about what the impact of payments would be before you go and buy or lease another one yes um but yes being prepared is absolutely key when it comes to credit that's amazing thanks for sharing that Chris so the last question before I let you go today um I know a lot of people we've been seeing this since last year or so everybody is focused on interest rates and we've seen it coming down and now last announcement we saw it stayed where it is you know and bank of Canada is playing with the numbers and you know it it kind of the psychology everybody is like you know trending towards but I want to ask you with what interest rates are heading does it really matter when it comes to a to a person's psychology or mindset towards what they want to achieve in their um in their goals because you know there are things that we can control and that things that we can't control so interest rate is something that we can't control so thriving in that space is not going to take us anywhere so I would like to focus on places that where I can thrive where I can control so just you know saying that what are your advice to anybody listening today as to where their focus should be and you know what they should be you know focusing and thriving on to have that winning mindset no matter it's buying a home or purchasing a car or whatever that is in their schedule but where they should be focusing and you know working towards i I love that you said you know you started this question with things you can't control and not worrying about that because you're absolutely right rates are not something that we can control in terms of what I think will happen I still think that the Bank of Canada is going to make some cuts because at the end of the day they're focused on two things 2% inflation and low unemployment right now unemployment is high and if that doesn't change then they're going to start influencing interest rates to reduce the cost of borrowing because they can't they don't want to they don't want us to get into a recession um and to keep GDP somewhat afloat and production happening people need to borrow and invest and they're going to do so when rates are cheap right um but as far as what they should focus on you you've mentioned this a number of times which is the need for housing if you know that you are going to need to make a move at some point you know that it is within your financial goals at some point to get into the housing market you're just still asking yourself when take the rate part out of the when because again your mortgage contract comes up for renewal you renegotiate that every so often just figure out okay what would a quarter point a half a point a full percentage point change in rates do to my finances what will that do to my housing cost and that's really only applicable if you have a variable rate mortgage right or if you're going to get one um the reality is rates come down more people borrow housing prices go up because demand goes up if rates go up less people borrow housing prices come down to encourage activity in the market so there there really is no speculators always lose yeah i would say again if it is a goal of yours within the next 12 months or it's something you're seriously thinking about get your financial wellness check stop worrying about rates focus on where the opportunities are you want to you want to be active in a market when others aren't active i've heard this saying so many times and it's Warren Buffett coined it um be fearful when others are greedy and be greedy when others are fearful when you see fewer people competing for properties that's when you find deals and you only pay the price for the asset once yes that's what determines what your overall return on investment is by the time years and years later that you come ready to sell it that's what determines what your profit is get the lowest price possible for a property and that's honestly rate when rates are highest that's when you are going to pay the less the least amount for a condo or a house exactly right so you should be thinking in this market what can I do to make that move or to get in now that others aren't really paying much attention exactly that's wonderful and you know just um talking to like one of the investors in the recent past what they said is Stella like when you're buying like if you are buying a home in the intention of making money and making wealth you make most of the money not when you sell but when you buy because the price point that you secure the home is very important in that wealth building absolutely yeah because interest rates can fluctuate any time but you know if you have a very good price point that you're securing your your home in or your investment property in that's going to make you the most money based on your strategy that you're going to follow through that to get the cash back out of it absolutely your interest is a cost in the overall when you're looking at your return on investment but appreciation is where it's at exactly you know and we have the discussion too Stella when people are you know there's people who are very hyperfocused on cash flow and people who are hyperfocused on appreciation um you need a little bit of both if you're buying an investment property but at the end of the day appreciation is where it's at because that people who focus more there are buying in markets like Toronto like Vancouver right the the cities or larger metropolitans you know suburban areas um where there's infrastructure being built look at what the future plans of the area are that's where your your greatest upside is going to be and I've learned this not just from investor clients that we've helped but like I even look at my parents right they've built a nice portfolio for themselves um no mortgages like imagine that you have a property that's worth north of a million dollars one day and you have no mortgage on it like eventually you'll get there yes you'll get there 25 to 30 years to be exact that's what the amortization periods are and that goes so fast these days the years just fly by it does and and you know what like you look at if you plan your finances properly properly and this is part of the the financial checkup the discussion you should have if you can if you can afford in excess which you should of what your housing costs are you can even put a little bit more towards the mortgage this is why interest rates I've tried it's it's important to try not to focus too much on that because you know I get people saying Chris if I go 30 years and I'm paying four and a half% versus oh I you know I can I can get a rate that's.1% less and do 25 years is that not better well the reality is if you pay a slightly higher rate at 30 years and you have a lower payment what's to stop you from paying a little extra towards the mortgage every month or at the end of every year you dump in a lump sum m you know if you're someone who earns bonuses or overtime or commission whatever it is that's how you actually reduce the amount of interest payable because the interest is calculated based on what your outstanding mortgages every single month exactly the rate is just a function of how long or sorry the amount of interest you pay in dollars is a function of how long you owe that money to the lender yes so if you pay it off faster you pay less interest that's how it works so don't think about that as much in terms of oh is it good to get into the market focus on there competition for real estate what is that like what price am I paying for the asset today versus what I might end up paying later on if the market goes up which it will right it always happens focus on where the opportunity lies and where the deals are not what interest rates are doing as much exactly exact focus on things that you can control exactly exactly yeah the winning mindset so if you're someone who's looking out for that winning strategy and how you can get started um I'm going to leave our information in our bio today um you can call reach out to us at stellarpropies.co to Chris directly and we'll be happy to sit down and have an no obligation conversation with you so you can make the right decision for yourself and your future thank you Chris thank you for having me Stella i appreciate it and that brings us to the end of today's episode at Stella Talk Show where we talked about more than just rates and market trends we talked about mindset mission and the real meaning of home a huge thank you to our special guest Chris Bares for sharing so much wisdom on what it really takes to navigate today's real estate market with clarity and confidence from understanding buyer psychology to breaking down the mortgage truths Chris reminded us that with the right strategy even a volatile market can be a launchpad for the next big move here's what I want to leave you with housing is not just a threat it's a basic human need it's about stability security growth and building a legacy we know the headlines can feel heavy but let's be honest fear has never built a home strategy has support has and mindset absolutely has so instead of waiting for the perfect time let's create it get educated get empowered and remember you don't have to do it alone our team at stellarproperties.ca CA is here with the tools programs yes up to $20,000 towards your down payment and step-by-step guidance to help you make your move because you deserve more than uncertainity you deserve a plan you deserve progress and most of all let's get you home until next time I'm Stella Ram stay inspired stay intentional and keep building the life you were meant to live let's get you home thank you for spending your time with us on the Stellar Talk Show we hope you found value in today's episode and gained insights to help elevate your lifestyle if you enjoyed the discussion please like subscribe and share it with anyone who could benefit it means the world to us until our next episode stay inspired and I'll see you soon on our next Stellar Talk Show