There's really no good reason why mortgage brokers should still be texting or emailing lenders to confirm guidelines, rates or deal status. It's the modern equivalent of sending a letter to a movie theatre to ask for showtimes.

A bot can dish out the same info in seconds, trimming staffing costs and elevating broker and client satisfaction.

That brings us to the puzzle of the day: why do almost no lenders offer such an invaluable tool to their broker partners? The tech to make this possible has been around for years, even before ChatGPT's November 30, 2022 public launch.

While most large lenders are snoozing on this technology, upstart Wiseday is making it happen.

Rate markets ended last week with just enough hope to annoy the pessimists.

The optimism came from Chair Powell, who hinted that America's wobbling job market and "restrictive" rates "may warrant" Fed easing. That's despite "upside" inflation risk.

His remarks sent U.S. rates skidding downhill, dragging Canadian yields down a few notches in the process.

The question is whether any of this actually shifts the math for Canadian mortgage shoppers. Let's unpack it.

Rate markets ended last week with just enough hope to annoy the pessimists.

The optimism came from Chair Powell, who hinted that America's wobbling job market and "restrictive" rates "may warrant" Fed easing. That's despite "upside" inflation risk.

His remarks sent U.S. rates skidding downhill, dragging Canadian yields down a few notches in the process.

The question is whether any of this actually shifts the math for Canadian mortgage shoppers. Let's unpack it.

Worrying about mortgage burdens late in life is becoming a national pastime. With Canada's oppressive cost of living and tax burdens, plus poor savings habits, homeowners increasingly fear their mortgage will outlast them.

While such realities may keep people in debt longer and boost industry mortgage volumes, it’s hardly the ideal societal outcome.

Earlier this year, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) conducted a survey that revealed intriguing trends about late-in-life mortgages. Here's what they found, along with specific ways that mortgage advisors can turn these trends into a business model.

Many mortgage experts can ballpark debt ratio calculations in their heads.

Meanwhile, first-time buyers often don't know the difference between GDS and GPS.

That's a problem that Canadians need to solve every time they go home hunting.

Usually, they call a broker or lender to tell them if/when they're qualified to buy. But Homie's got another idea: use its free app.

The company says its app shows first-time buyers what they can afford in about three minutes.

For more on how it pulls that off, and who might care, read on.

Inflation gave the rate market a breather, undershooting estimates on both headline and average core measures. But this is not a dovish report. Thus, Macklem’s finger is probably closer to the snooze button than the rate cut button.

Canadian rates nudged higher ahead of the most critical report of the month: domestic CPI.

Bay Street expects the key inflation gauges to keep drifting apart, with a:

• 1-tick slowdown in headline inflation to 1.8% (prior 1.9%)
• ½-tick acceleration in average core inflation to 3.1% (prior 3.05%)

We’ll return with the full play-by-play after StatCan hits “Send” at 8:30 a.m. ET.