CategoryMortgage News

Posted March 2, 2015 Case study

Rate shopping sites…tested again.. and failed again.

A few years ago, I published a study on Rate shopping sites. These sites were gaining popularity with consumers as a place to go if you wanted to get the best rates. And they attracted a lot of attention.

You know the sites… they have catchy ads like ‘shopping for the Best Mortgage rates in Canada’ or ‘comparing Canada’s mortgage brokers for the best rates’.
Hey, who doesn’t want the best rate? These ads work. Canadians were clicking these links to get more info.

Sounds great, right? Yet, it’s not.
Continue reading “Rate shopping sites…tested again.. and failed again.”

Posted February 28, 2015 Mortgage News

Mortgage Rates hit Record lows again!

This isn’t 2010, 11, 12, 13 or even 2014… It’s 2015, and once again, we are making this announcement. 5 year Fixed Mortgage rates are an new all-time lows! Today, you can get a 5 yr fixed rate for 2.79%, even 2.74%, with some conditions. (and by the way, yes, I am seeing slightly lower rates advertised, and I have access to these, but I won’t recommend these to my clients as they contain inferior terms, limited privileges, product restrictions and inflated prepayment penalty calculations… I won’t promote these.)

Just 2 years ago, the Federal Minister of Finance’s office picked up the phone, and called a Bank because they were advertising a 5 yr fixed rate at 2.99%. The federal govt was concerned that the record low rate, at the time, would promote more consumer spending and make the already hot real estate market, even hotter. Continue reading “Mortgage Rates hit Record lows again!”

Posted February 27, 2015 Money saving tips

$15,000 savings by breaking his mortgage early and getting into today’s low rates.

Look, I don’t advocate paying penalties, however, if there is an obvious savings to be had, then you have to do it. We’ve reached a point where interest rates are so low, it’s worth a review. Here are some recent experiences with real people…. Enjoy.

I had one of my readers contact me about breaking his mortgage… His current mortgage with a good lender.. a Non-bank lender.. his rate is 3.59%. He took a 10 yr term last year. Balance was over $500k. So with 9 yrs remaining, we reviewed his options.

This was a no brainer. Penalty to get out was under $5,000 (lucky he was with a non-BIG SIX BANK). But the savings over the next 5 yrs would be $20,500. His net savings is $15,000. Would you I recommend he break the mortgage? Absolutely! Continue reading “$15,000 savings by breaking his mortgage early and getting into today’s low rates.”

Posted February 3, 2015 Mortgage News

Record low Bond yields means even lower fixed mortgage rates

Fixed mortgage rates are tied into Govt of Cda bond yields. As the yields go done, so does the fixed mortgage rates.. well, usually.. more on that later..These bond yields have hit all-time lows in the past week… Yesterday, they were as low as 0.55%... To put that into perspective, the 5 yr bond yield is lower than the Bank or Canada overnight rate, which now stands at 0.75%. Another historical event. That almost never happens.

Check out these 2 historical charts to compare the Bank of Canada rate from 1935 to Dec 2014 and 5 year Govt of Cda bond yield from 1980 to Dec 2014….

If you’re wondering what this means for you, a Canadian consumer, it means mortgage rates should go even lower. Institutional investors are pricing in a further Bank of Canada rate cut at their next schedule meeting on March 4th, 2015. Continue reading “Record low Bond yields means even lower fixed mortgage rates”

Posted January 29, 20153 Comments Bank News

BIG SIX BANKS finally cut Prime rate.. Well, sort of…!

Last week, the Bank of Canada (BoC) cut their overnight rate by 0.25%. The move surprised all the so-called ‘Financial Experts’… (well, not me… As I had suggested rates were likely to drop in the previous week’s article and also in the previous month).

Our BIG SIX BANKS had their own surprise for us. Instead of passing along the usual rate cut to consumers, they sat on their hands and did nothing. In fact, TD Bank felt good about it and made public statements about how their Bank Prime rate wasn’t fully influenced by the BOC rate. (That’s such a load of bull, you can almost smell it coming out of your screens!)

And also last week, the Banks immediately cut the rate they pay you on your savings by that same 0.25%. Continue reading “BIG SIX BANKS finally cut Prime rate.. Well, sort of…!”