—The Mortgage Report: Oct. 29— 1.29% is now the variable rate to beat, in Ontario at least. This new rate is: effectively equivalent to prime – 1.16%, a discount we haven’t seen since the COVID implosion last March 11 bps below the lowest 5-year fixed in the province (that being 1.40% for default-insured mortgages). Unfortunately, 1.29% is only available on...
“We are not actively discussing negative interest rates at this point, but it’s in our toolkit and never say never.” Bank of Canada Governor, Tiff Macklem That comment from Canada’s monetary kahuna, Tiff Macklem, put a glimmer of hope in the eyes of variable-rate mortgagors this week. By leaving the door open to sub-zero rates, even if just a crack,...
—The Mortgage Report: Sept. 18— Variable Discounts Improve Further Bankers are making more dinero on floating-rate loans. That’s motivating them to cough up some profit and sharpen their variable rate pencils. Online brokers are now effectively as low as prime – 0.93% on default-insured variables in some provinces. Uninsured customers (including those refinancing) get milked for more, as usual, but...
Quick Rundown Today’s Announcement:No change to rates Overnight rate:0.25% Prime Rate:2.45% (also no change; seePrime Rate) Market Rate Forecast:No BoC hikes until at least 2023 BoC’s Headline Quote: “The Governing Council will hold the policy interest rate at the effective lower bound [intended to be 0.25%] until economic slack is absorbed so that the 2% inflation target is sustainably achieved.”...
—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: 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: June 23— Prices Will Fall, Unless They Don’t: “Short-term uncertainty will lead to severe declines in sales activity and in new construction,” CMHC reported Tuesday. “House prices will fall as well and are unlikely to recover over the horizon of this report (through 2022).” But that statement is a tad general. It would be a mistake to...
— The Mortgage Report : June 17 — Prices Slide: The Bank of Canada wants average core inflation at/near 2%, but it’s currently 1.67% and diving. That’s noteworthy for borrowers given inflation expectations are a primary determinant of mortgage rates. Inflation’s descent may slow thanks to rebounding oil prices, but it’ll continue dropping economists say—potentially to lows we haven’t seen...
The Mortgage Report – June 5 Big Drops from HSBC: The online mortgage juggernaut keeps shaking competitors’ trees. This time with Canada’s lowest bank-advertised 5-year fixed rate ever, according to our records. It’s also the first bank to crack the 2% barrier on a 5-fixed, albeit it’s for default-insured mortgages only. HSBC’s move not only reflects historically low funding costs,...
The Mortgage Report – Weekend Edition More Sub-2% Rates: For default-insured borrowers, there’s now up to three mortgage terms in the magic 1% range, depending on your province. They include the one-year fixed, three-year fixed and variable. In coming weeks, more borrowers could strategically choose shorter fixed terms to: (a) wait for better variable-rate discounts in 2021, and/or (b) get...
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