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CategoryMortgage Trends

Posted Mortgage News

School’s in for Bank of Canada

To all the kids…. including my son…..”Have a great year at school.. make it fun… make it count”.

Tomorrow is the 6th of 8 scheduled meetings for 2010 by the Bank of Canada…a time when they set the Target Rate or Overnight Rate, which directly affects the Bank Prime Rate and your Variable Rate Mortgage.

The original plan called for Mark Carney, Governor of Bank of Canada, to raise interest rates steadily over the next year or so by as much as 3.00%… but it’s become a little tougher to make that move.

Less than impressive economic news in the U.S., Canada and the rest of the world has given concern about a double dip recession…. raising the rates during a period of uncertainty is risky business.   Right now, experts are calling for a 60% chance of a rate hike but then a pause to see how this will affect the economy.

Longer term forecasts have been amended for more modest rate hikes in 2011….  all good news for Borrowers…  stay tuned as we continue to monitor the latest reports…

Bottom line, new Variable rate mortgages can be had for around 2.05% to 2.10%… so even a 1.50% increase would  beat out a 5 year fixed rate….

Posted Mortgage News

When should I lock in my Variable rate mortgage?

A thought on the minds of many, with all the talk of ‘Historical low fixed mortgage rates’ and ‘rising Variable rates’.   “When should I lock in my Variable rate mortgage?”

Here’s a quick suggestion and rule that I follow… We only want to lock in our Variable rate mortgage when we think Variable rates will go way up and for an extended period of time…

But we must also look at what we can lock into… if you are in a 2.10% Variable rate mortgage, would you lock into a 3.89% fixed mortgage rate?   I’m not sure I would…. I think it will take a few years before my Variable rate mortgage approaches today’s Fixed rate…..  why pay more today when you don’t have to?

For me, I can’t see Variable rate mortgages underperforming Fixed Rates over the 12 to 17 years that it will take us to pay our mortgage off.  Having said that, we are always evaluating the Market Trends and will adjust our strategies when needed.  A mortgage is a huge debt and deserves a solid strategy to retire this debt with the lowest cost.

Ultimately, it will come down to risk tolerance, your personal budget and what you believe will be the better strategy.  Consult your Mortgage Broker to better understand the differences.

By the way, you might be interested in knowing that certain Banks and Trust companies have recently started to pay us more to offer fixed rate mortgages over Variable rate Mortgages…Good Mortgage Brokers don’t let the compensation dictate which product they recommend.  They recommend what they believe is right for the client.

Posted 1 Comment on 3 year fixed mortgage rates under 3.00% Mortgage News

3 year fixed mortgage rates under 3.00%

Fixed mortgage rates are sitting at around 3.89% for a 5 year closed and 2.90% for a 3 year closed.  These are definitely attractive rates and are at or near historical lows…

Why?  The Bond market has dropped significantly over the past 3 months…. this has come as a surprise to many but not all…  The economic recovery isn’t as certain as we once thought… with mixed data coming out about our economy, this uncertainty will cause interest rates to stay low…

Once trend that has caught our eye is that lenders are now offering Mortgage Brokers a higher commission to sell a 3 year and a 5 year fixed rate product… and although that may attract more busy from some, I’m still recommending the Variable Rate mortgage, even though we get paid less.. it’s always about doing what’s in our client’s best interest.

Variable rate has been a proven winner over the past 25 years… I don’t think our economy is as strong as some would think….There has been improvement but we have a long way to go before we can say we are out… Hence the lower fixed mortgage rates… Variable rates will increase but it will be a slow, steady climb… with current Variable rates at 2.10%, Variable has a long way to go before it is not cost-effective.

Posted 2 Comments on Historical Rates updated…Canada reports job losses.. Fixed rates drop Mortgage Rates

Historical Rates updated…Canada reports job losses.. Fixed rates drop

Historical Rates

Here’s an updated chart that shows Fixed and Variable mortgage rates over the past 25 years…. click here.

Fixed rates drop again

Seems like it was just yesterday when we heard reports of mortgage rates going way up….  Posted Fixed rates fell again with RBC dropping their 5 year fixed rate to 5.59%.   Discounted 5 year fixed rates are now available at 3.89%…and Variable rates are hovering at around 2.10%.

Canada loses 139,000 jobs in July

Quoting a report from CBC.ca, Statistics Canada shows some cities improved their unemployment figures…but overall, we have few full-time jobs and more part-time jobs…  The recovery from the recession still seems to be headed in the right direction but this is definitely a speed bump that will slow us down..

The good news is for borrowers of money… interest rates shouldn’t go up in any hurry… in fact, we have seen fixed rates drop over the past 40 days…. watch for flat or modest rate movement over the next several months.

Posted Mortgage News

Sounds like a broken record…5 yr Bond rates remain low as do mortgage rates..

We’ve reached the middle of summer and there is very little to report… hey, that’s a good thing.. remember, boring is good when it comes to mortgage rates..

Remember those Experts that called for people to lock into a long-term fixed rate at or around 4.00% last year?.. Variable rates have been under 2.00% for over a year and recently went above 2.00%….   I do understand why some would call for us to lock in….but I’m glad I wasn’t one of them…

Look at today’s 5 year bond rate and it’s 2.29%… WOW!   That’s unbelievably low… the 5 year fixed rate is priced from the Bond market and normally, we will see a spread of 1.20% to 1.40% above that… so really, we should be seeing fixed rates as low at 3.50% but the Banks are taking advantage of the spreads and maximizing their profits…..

Let’s not be in too much of a hurry to improve bank profits….

Watch for possible increases in fixed and variable rates later this year.. but remember, we’re still near record low rates.. they will go up, but slowly… no need to panic… yes, this is boring news.. but boring is good…