—The Mortgage Report: Aug. 25— Yes. The Question is: When? Most readers know that fixed mortgage rates follow bond yields. But it’s bond yields south of the border that are particularly influential for Canadian mortgage rates — given U.S. influence on our economy. To get to 1.49% on discounted 5-year fixed rates, we need a Canadian 5-year bond yield near...
—The Mortgage Report: Aug 21— Boldly Going Where No 5-Year Fixed Rate Has Gone Before For the first time, pricing on Canada’s most in-demand term is now effectively as low as 1.59%. That’s for default-insured 5-year fixed mortgages in Ontario. Consider that just 18 months ago rates were double what we see today. On the uninsured side, we’re getting multiple...
—The Mortgage Report: Aug. 16— HSBC Cuts HSBC slashed a bunch of key rates going into the weekend, setting record lows on a variety of terms. That included reductions to these special fixed rates: 3yr: 2.19% to 1.99% Canada’s lowest-ever 3yr refi rate 5yr: 2.09% to 1.96% Canada’s lowest-ever 5yr refi rate 5yr (high ratio): 1.89% to 1.76% Canada’s lowest-ever...
The debate over fixed or variable rates never ends. But there are now two things that are far less debatable: 1) The Bank of Canada is telling us that prime rate has likely hit bottom, and 2) “Safer” 5-year fixed rates are now as low as “riskier” variable rates. (Safer, particularly if you choose a fair penalty lender.) Given the...
Effective this week, it gets a little easier to buy a house or refinance. On Saturday, BMO and CIBC shaved 15 basis points off their posted 5-year fixed rates. That’s enough to drop the benchmark 5-year posted rate to 4.79%. Given regulators use this benchmark rate to calculate Canada’s minimum mortgage stress test, today’s cuts mean you’ll now need less...
—The Mortgage Report: Aug. 5— Is This a Joke?: “The CMHC defines housing as affordable when ‘it costs less than 30% of a household’s before-tax income,’ which includes rent or mortgage (principal and interest) payments, property taxes and other home bills,” reports the Financial Post. The punchline is, you have to move to a remote fishing village in Newfoundland to...
—The Mortgage Report: July 28— A Paper-Thin Spread: The gap between fixed and variable rates is as narrow as it’s been in months. The most competitive mortgage providers now sell 5-year fixed rates for less than 7 basis points above the cheapest variable rates. That “fixed-variable spread” could soon become negative, as it was in early March. Fixed rates are...
—The Mortgage Report: July 22— Rate Influencers: When people ask, “What’s the best rate?” most just want you to reel off a number with minimal complexity. Many don’t realize all the elements that determine mortgage pricing. That’s why it’s almost impossible to spit out an accurate quote on the fly. If you want a standard 5-year fixed, for example, factors...
—The Happy Canada Day Report: July 1— Fixed or Bust: Canada’s lowest nationally available conventional variable rate is just nine basis points cheaper than a comparable 5-year fixed rate. That minuscule “fixed-variable” spread is now 80% narrower than its 10-year average. In other words, the market is no longer compensating new borrowers for the risk of a floating-rate mortgage. And...
The Mortgage Report – June 10 Dot Dot Dot Plot: The U.S. Federal Reserve, which sways Canadian rates more than many realize, was more pessimistic than expected in its rate announcement today. It’s “Dot Plot” (the Fed’s official rate forecast) now projects no rate hikes for 2020, 2021 and likely 2022. It’s unlikely Canada deviates much from the Fed’s path...
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