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CategoryMortgage Trends

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 Money saving tips

A look back at Oct 2008 and the Bank’s kool-aid..

October 2008 will be remembered for a few reasons….. First, it was Obama’s rise to the presidency… the first black American president…. next, it was also the end of Lehman Brothers investment bank and the beginning of one of the biggest global recessions in modern history…

That’s how most of us will remember October 2008….. but  there was also another very memorable event that took place.  You see, it was around this time that I heard some borrowers were getting calls from their Bank to lock-in their Variable rate mortgages…. or to take a long term fixed rate mortgage to ‘protect themselves from the uncertainly’ that surrounded the markets at the time…. I warned mortgage borrowers to expect a call  from their Bank offering a ‘safer mortgage option’ or some ‘special offer’ to lock into a fixed rate or a long-term rate…and NOT to take such offers or deals….

Can you imagine a Bank advising or recommending that you lock in your Variable rate or to take a long-term Fixed rate at that time?    At the time, Variable rates were are at around 3.35% and 5 year fixed rates were at around 5.75%.   Uh, no thank you… I’ll pass on the bank kool-aid.

The funny thing about uncertainty is that it usually brings us lower interest rates…..not always, but during this time we knew the World Banks would work together to lessen the economic impact of the Lehman Brothers collapse.   Unfortunately, there were far too many borrowers that listened to their banker and locked into the much higher Fixed rates…

The moral of the story is that Bankers and their ‘Mortgage Specialists’ work for one company, one Bank… they can only offer you one set of products and MUST do what’s in the BEST interests of their BANK…. They have to drink the Bank koolaid….   Mortgage Brokers can offer the products from dozens of lenders and can also compare the benefits and differences between Banks… Remember to ask questions and opinions from neutral, unbiased professionals.

Don’t drink the kool-aid…

Posted Interest rates

Mortgage refinances are down nearly 40%.

Mortgage refinances are down in Canada according to CMHC…. No big surprise to those of us in the Mortgage industry…   The govt has made it more difficult to access money over the past 3 years with all the Mortgage rule changes.    They have accomplished their goal of trying to discourage us from borrowing more.

Here’s a look at some of the rule changes that made an impact:

-mortgage refinances are capped at 85% loan to value from 95% loan to value just a few years ago.

-maximum amortization for hi-ratio mortgages (over 80% loan to value) is 30 years.  Down from 40 years.

-variable rate mortgages and mortgages with terms less than 5 years must be qualified at the Bank’s POSTED 5 year fixed rate… this too will squeeze out many more borrowers as it forces us to qualify at the much higher POSTED rate…. 5.39% vs a discounted fixed rate of 3.49%….

The Banksters are happy to see you take the much higher 5 year fixed rate vs the lower, Variable rate (current Variable is hovering around 2.40%… RBC is advertising their  and Bank’s are advertising their 5 year fixed rate special offer at 4.24%…..).   Banks make more money on the 5 year fixed vs the Variable rate.  Remember that when choosing your next mortgage term.

Oh, and by the way, there are better Fixed rates out there…  we are currently seeing 3.49% for 5 years from the wholesale market.

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 News

RBC raises their Variable rate mortgage pricing.

Earlier this year, we saw a few lenders raise their Variable rate pricing from Prime less 0.75% to Prime less 0.50%…. Most other lenders did not follow.. But it made us wonder if there was some concern that the Bank of Canada might hold off on any increases in the  Bank Prime this year, as was widely forecast by most Experts….

Sure enough, the recent stock market collapse, the European and US debt crisis has put any potential rate hikes on the back burner with most Economists forecasting for no increases until next year…

Fast forward to today… The Financial Post reported that RBC would increase their pricing from Prime less 0.65% to Prime less 0.45%.   This move would indicate that the RBC Economists think the Bank of Canada is not in any hurry to raise the Prime rate…. or they believe the BOC may even lower the rate at some point…

Mortgage Brokers still have access to better priced Variable rate products through their wholesale channels but will other Lenders raise their pricing in the coming weeks?   We’ll be watching and will let you know…