People who live in Ontario are getting used to Meridian Credit Union’s quick-hit rate specials.Every few quarters the company seems to roll out a rate that undercuts just about everyone. This time, Ontario’s largest credit union isrunning a 1.50% specialon a 15-month mortgage.At that rate, they’re almost giving money away. But should you bite? Here are a handful ofpoints for...
We rarely comment on GIC dealsbut there’s an opportunity out there that can’t be ignored. GICs are notfor most people, but for someconservative investors theyhave their place. For GIC loverswho crave extra yield (and who doesn’t), Oaken Financial’s current promo seems likea gift from the gods. Oaken Financial is owned by Home Capital, the mortgage company that was on the...
A quickbriefing on recent mortgage rate developments: Higher Rates on the Radar:The market has now fully priced in a rate hike this year, based on the yieldsof interest rate derivatives. “Clearly this is no longer an economy that requires emergency-level interest rates,” says TD. Both it and CIBC predict the first 25 bps rate bumpin October. But some analysts think...
Almost every public statement the Bank of Canada makes is scripted. Case in point was thespeech today from the Bank of Canada’s Senior Deputy Governorin Winnipeg. She came with prepared remarks that were broadcast all over the Internet. Her (and the BoC’s) mission is clearly to get people thinking about rate hikes—more specifically, that rates will rise before they fall....
Debt ratios are rising, but it’s not just because borrowersare taking on more debt. They’rerising because the government changed the rules of the game. Last October it made allinsured mortgage borrowersprove they can afford a payment at the 5-year posted rate (currently 4.64%). Thoseartificially higher payments (coined the “stress test”) have increased people’s debt ratios, at least on paper. Numbers...
Big bank posted mortgage rates arelike sticker priceson new boats. Almost nobody pays them. Today’stypical5-year posted rate is 4.64%. Were you to get stuck paying this joke of a mortgage rate, it would cost you$10,394 more interest every five years, for every $100,000 of mortgage. That’s compared tothe averagestreetrate, which is almost 220 basis points lower at2.45%. Posted rates have...
Here’s a stat that’s got debt and housing critics talking: Almost 3 in 4 homeowners say they’d suffer “financial difficulty” if their mortgage payment rose by 10%. This warning comes from a new Manulife Bank survey released today. This number is likely inflated by the fact thatsome survey respondents can’t accurately quantify what a 10% payment hikewould do to their...
The “Trump Bump” it was called — that 50+ basis point run-up in rates following President Donald Trump’s surprise presidential win. Well, theTrump Bump has become the Trump Dump. Bond yields dove to a 6-month lowyesterdayon fresh reports of White House scandals and a stock selloff. Here’s the chart: This dip in yields was triggered by investor concerns about the...
Fixed and variable rates beganthe year on totallydifferent trajectories. Fixed rates were on the wayup. Variable rates were on the waydown. But in the last eight weeks, the gap between the two has conspicuously narrowed, withfixed rates fallingup to 20 bps. That’s driven down the “insurance premium” borrowers pay for the security of a fixed rate. Canada’s lowest 5-year...
It’s easy to stoke fear of a crisis when there’s already a purported crisis. Toweringhousing valuations in Canada’s internationally renowned cities have prompted bubble-talk for years. Housing bearsare constantly speculating on what it’s going to take to “pop” it. Well, now we have a pin, some say: Home Capital’s scandalous potential failure. But we don’t see it that way. Despite...
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