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CategoryMortgage Rates

Posted Interest rates

BMO Economist forecast no rate hikes til 2013

More good news…. interest rates are not expected to increase til 2013, according to Bank of Montreal.

Really no surprise here.  The global economy is not doing well.  But here in Canada, the economy is performing relatively well.   The only reason our stock market and Canadian $ are down is because of the uncertainty of the European debt crisis.

5 year fixed rates are hovering at 3.39%… and they are even lower for qualified borrowers…. Variable rates are at around 2.60%…  We are in record low territory.

Did you know a $300,000 mortgage will carry for as little as $1199/month?   Hey, if you’re paying $1400/mth for rent, then why not consider buying place of your own…  And for those that want off the stock market roller coaster, a rental property may just be what you need…  Best thing is to talk to a Mortgage Broker, crunch the numbers and see how it looks.   It’s probably easier than you think.

Posted Consumer Debt

Setting us up for fewer rate drops and higher bank profit margins..

It’s becoming clear that the Banks and govt want us to boost Bank profit margins…. Yes, it’s true!   They want you and I to pay a higher interest rate so that the Banks can earn a higher profit…

Let’s look at some facts…

-The Banks recently got together and increased their Variable rate pricing from Prime less 0.75% to Prime less 0% (the Bank websites are showing their variable rates at Prime less 0% but there are still places you can get Prime less 0.40%).   So why is that?  They tell us ‘profitability concerns’ is the reason…

-The best 5 year fixed rate on the web from any of the Big Six Banks is 3.99%… Yet, the 5 year govt of Canada bond yields are at 1.43% today…that’s a spread of 2.56%... historically, that spread is between 1.10% to 1.50%… (by the way, you can still get a 5 year fixed rate at 3.39% from reputable lending institutions).   The Banks are making a fortune these days on Fixed Rate mortgages.

– OSFI (Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions) has now come out and said that they are concerned consumers will borrower more than they should because interest rates are so low… and because of this, they are urging Banks not to loosen their lending criteria, especially on Home Equity Lines of Credit…

Read the warning signs

If you read between the lines, we are being warned that tighter lending rules could be just around the corner for Secured lines of credit… I don’t think the govt needs to make any further changes to mortgage lending…both secured lines of credit and mortgages…  We have seen several rules changes over the past few years….  But  the message we are being fed is that Banks need to charge a higher rate of interest because consumers cannot be trusted to borrow wisely…

The reality is that interest rates should actually be lower than where they are today.   Cost of funds are down… so why can’t we just let consumers pay fair market interest rates?  It’s one thing to be told that interest rates are going up because of market conditions and cost of funds… but when I start hearing that Bank Profit concerns and consumer spending habits are issues, then I have to start questioning the motives.   This just sounds like another excuse to raise rates and charge the average consumer more…..Consumers beware…!

Some good news

There was some good news… and that is that US interest rates are forecast to remain low into 2013…. Canada usually follow the US very closely….Hey, let’s enjoy the low interest rates…. a $300,000 mortgage will carry from between $1200/mth and $1325/mth…what’s wrong with that?  Enjoy Canada… Enjoy.

Posted Interest rates

Variable rate increases again..

Lenders have begun to raise their Variable rate mortgages again…. The second increase in less than a month.  A look at the Bank websites and you will Variable rate pricing is now at Bank Prime less 0%….  that’s 3.00%…   And although ‘3.00%’ sounds like a good rate, a Variable rate at Bank Prime less 0% is not good.

The Banks have gone from an advertised rate of Prime less 0.65% to Prime less 0% in about one month’s time.   Of course, the best wholesale rates through mortgage brokers now sit at Prime less 0.50% and will probably go to Prime less 0.40% after the dust settles.

So what’s causing the Banks to increase their Variable rate mortgages?   They tell us there are “profitability concerns”.   In simple talk, that means they simply want to increase their profit margins now that rates are expected to stay low for some time to come.   They also want to force us to take the much mortgage profitable 5 year fixed rate mortgage, now sitting at 3.99% (RBC website special rate)..    Keep in mind, there are better rates to be had in the wholesale market…. 3.49% seems to be the best 5 year fixed rate today.

But even 3.49% is too high.  The spread between the 5 year govt of Cda bond (1.45%) and 3.49% is still over 2.00%.   Historically, this spread has been between 1.10% and 1.40%..    It’s simply math…. the Banksters are saying ‘ka-ching, ka-ching”.

Posted Mortgage News

More Banks raise their variable rates

BMO has joined RBC in raising their Variable rate mortgage pricing. The Financial Post reports that BMO raised their Variable rate mortgages from Prime 015% to Prime less 0%.

Can you say, ‘we want to force borrowers into the more profitable 5 year fixed rate products’???  That’s right.. The Banks would rather see you in a 4.00% rate vs. a 2.25% rate…  And why not?  They are a business after all.

We have also just received reports from other wholesale lenders that they will raise their pricing as well…  If you were looking at buying a house, refinancing your mortgage or had a mortgage coming up for renewal in the next 4 months, I would suggest you speak with your Mortgage Broker and get some rates locked in…

It’s important to understand, the Bank of Canada is not likely to raise their rate anytime soon.   Bank Prime remains at 3.00%.  We are seeing the Bank Economists tell us they think the economy will remain slow… The Banks do not make as much profit with the low Variable rate mortgages… They want and prefer you to take a 5 year fixed.. these are the most profitable mortgage products for them.

So  the bad news is Lenders will raise their Variable rates slightly, the good news is that we are probably going to continue to enjoy mortgage rates under 3.00% for some time to come…..

Posted Mortgage Products

Stock market drop and slight recovery.

Did you know that between July 22nd and August 8th, the TSX index dropped 14%?   Did you know that since August 8th, it has recovered 9% of that loss?  What a roller coaster ride…But there’s good news here…

So how will this affect your mortgage rates?

Fixed mortgage rates are priced from the 5 year Cda govt bonds.. Bond yields also dropped like a rock.. from 2.27% to 1.35% during that same time period…  that’s a 0.92% decrease.  A visit to TD Bank’s website shows us their ‘5 year fixed rate Special offer’ is 4.19%... no drop at all.   Call a Mortgage broker and you’ll see rates of around 3.49% today.

Sure, fixed rates are very low but they should be lower….  Fixed rates are usually priced around 1.30% to 1. 70% above the 5 year bond yield…  Why haven’t you seen mortgage rates keep pace with the bond yield drop?   That’s not hard to figure out… The Banks are maximizing their profits… same old story…Banks are infamous for hiking rates quickly and but slow to move when it comes to cutting rates.

How about Variable rates?

Well, not much to report there… The Bank of Canada meets 8 times a year.   Last meeting was July 19th.  Next meeting is Sept 7th.    You can forget about any immediate rate hike.   Economists have done an about-face with their forecasts…. We were expecting a rate hike this September or October… That’s now been pushed back to 2012… and there were even some rumblings about a possible BOC rate cut (but I’m not sure that’s gonna happen).

At 3.00%, the Bank Prime rate is still very, very low and makes borrowing very attractive…   Current Variable rate mortgages are priced at between Prime less 0.65% to 0.80%…    We may not see interest rates drop, but there is no reason for them to go up for the next little while…. Enjoy the low rates.