Economic events that could move your mortgage rate, in no particular order… Frisky Fiscal Stimulators “…The bond market would react very badly to a sudden move to fiscal easing.”—J.P. Morgan Monetary policy isn’t working so well. Interest rates around the developed world are either negative or near-zeroand still growth is stuck in a rut. That’s got some experts looking tofiscal...
If you’re considering using amortgage broker for an approval andbacking out at the last minute, check your contract first. It couldcost you otherwise. One recent borrower learned this the expensiveway after ditching his mortgage broker and going with another. He did soafter the first broker, lender and lawyer expended considerable effortto secure hisapproval and close the mortgage under time constraints....
Crude oil and mortgage rates have had a cozy correlation in recent years. More often than not, they move in the same direction. Last week oil dipped below$40—more than 20% beneathits June peak. That was enough to officially put itback in bear market territory, a quandary for Canada’s resource-dependent economy. Overthe last few days, oil has bounced somewhat to $42-ish....
If you’ve everbroken your mortgage early, you know that figuring out the mortgage prepayment charge, or “penalty”as it’s commonlyknown, can bea hassle. Until recently, mortgagorswanting to sell their home or refinance with another lender before maturity had to jump through hoops to get an accurate penalty quote. Theytypicallyhadto call their lender and listen to asales pitch as the lender tried...
“What the inflation market is currently pricing is an incredibly benign inflation trajectory in the next 10 to 20 years.” Martin Hegarty, head of BlackRock’s inflation-linked bond portfolio in New York, told that to Reuters this week in a story entitled Markets predict decades of inflation frustration. “We are pricing a…rate that implies the Fed will miss its inflation target...
Yesterday’s Bank of Canada Decision: Roses in a Weed-patch You’ve got to hand it to Bank of Canada head Stephen Poloz. He’s remained as optimistic as a dog before dinner. The problem is, the BoC’sundying economic optimism doesn’t jibe with itsrepeated cuts to Canada’s growth outlook. The BoC wants to stay positive because negativity doesn’t help recoveries. It wants us...
This past week, Canada’s bank regulator (OSFI)toldlenders toconsider increasing the hypothetical interest rates they use when stress testing applicants’ mortgage payments. Currently, if you’re getting a variable or 1- to 4-year fixed term, lenders typicallycheck to ensure you can afford a payment at the Bank of Canada’s “qualifying rate” — i.e.,the mode average of the Big 6 banks’ 5-year posted...
Brexit Fallout: Non-Radioactive (So Far) It’s been 12 days since Britain voted to cancel its EU membership. That news dropped a bomb on the market but thankfully it wasn’t nuclear. So far, the pundits have brushed off any adverse effects for Canada. But dismissing Brexit’s impact on mortgage rates would be premature. For one thing, it will continuecausing insecurity among...
Traders around the world had their bets in the wrong place. They thoughtthat the UK would stay in the European Union. But in a cliffhanger vote, Brits decided otherwise. Now the world is realizing just what a big deal this is (see BMO’s note). For the UK, the world’s 9th biggest economy, ramifications include a historic collapse in the pound,...
Unlike us mortgage geeks, you may nothave time to sit and gawk atrates all day. That’s why we’re juicedabout the Spy’s latest feature: Rate Alerts. Literally dozensof readershave askedfor them and our trusty coders have delivered.Rate Alerts let you create up to five alarms that trigger when your custom criteria are met.Here are just a few examples: Tell me when...
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