Skip to content
Posted Mortgage News

Annual CAAMP conference Nov 21-23

The annual Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals (CAAMP) conference is being held this weekend in Montreal.  CAAMP is the National association for Mortgage Brokers and Lenders with over 12,00o members representing over 1,700 companies.

The conference is a great place to see all the Lenders, Mortgage Insurers, Brokers and other industry product suppliers under one roof.   It’s also a great time to hear about new products, trends and Economist’s forecasts for 2011….  (forecasts are difficult to make during a recovery so I’m sure we’ll be paying attention to what is and what is not said).

To me, the best part of the conference  has always been the Trade show or the Expo.  This is where we can meet everyone in one room, at one time… and on a one on one basis….  One suggestion for CAAMP… expand the time of the Trade show…3 hours isn’t enough to visit all the booths…  perhaps cut out some of the speakers…no disrespect intended to the speakers….

For more information visit the conference website at http://www.mortgageconference.ca.

Posted Interest rates

180 day rate hold at 3.73%… CMHC 2011 housing forecast

As reported earlier today, TD was the first to raise fixed rates… they are up by 0.25%.. The TD Canada Trust Broker rate is 3.94% and can be held for 120 days…  TD has been out of the game with their 5 year fixed rate for some time… Most Lenders are offering 3.49%….. But this will most definitely go up as the Bond yields are over 2.30%…click here for the chart.

There is another option that is less talked about.   A major Bank is offering a 180 day rate hold on a 5 year fixed rate for 3.73%… this may not be for everyone, but it’s an option for anyone looking to buy but hasn’t found a house… or for those with a long closing…

Interesting, CMHC released their 4th quarter forecast and were calling for moderate activity in 2011… but they also said low mortgage rates will help to drive the housing market….This latest increase shouldn’t cause panic…these are still record low interest rates…  But we’ll have to follow the trend and see if CMHC makes any adjustment in their forecast…

Posted Mortgage Rates

Banks slow to lower rates…but quick to raise them

Some things never change…..On Oct 19th, 2010, the 5 year Canadian Bond yield was 1.85%… It fluctuated up and down but staying below 2.00% until Nov 5th when it closed at 2.053%…  We were expecting the Banks to adjust their Fixed rates downward but it didn’t happen..

Since then, it has kept above 2.00% and is currently at 2.27%….  This increase in the Bond yield usually means Fixed Mortgage Rates will go up..  See the chart here.

But earlier this week, the Big Six Banks lowered their posted 5 year mortgage rate to 5.19% from 5.29%…  This is just a delayed reaction the low bond yields.. but it just goes to show that the Banks continue their pattern of reacting slowing to lowering rates but move like Formula 1 race car to raise rates..

Of course, Posted Mortgage Rates really don’t mean much as the Wholesale Market or Broker Market deals with the true rates.. And Fixed rates dropped late last week to their lowest levels ever. … 5 year fixed rates are now at around 3.49%… with some Lenders even offering 3.39%…  WOW!

Watch for Fixed rates to move upward slightly as the Bond yield is now high enough to warrant an increase…

Posted Interest rates

How will the high $Canadian dollar affect mortgage rates?

The Canadian dollar is just about at par with the U.S. dollar…  The BMO Economist sums it up well when he says “Generally speaking, from a stronger currency, consumers win and producers lose.”  As quoted in the Vancouver Sun.

And a high Canadian dollar means the Bank of Canada is less likely to increase the Target Rate which affects Variable Rates…  Any move by the Bank of Canada upwards will only drive the Canadian dollar higher…
A high Canadian dollar hurts our exports as they become more expensive for other countries to buy…  and we will probably see more cross border shopping as our strong $CAD will have more buying power…
Bottom line is that Variable Rates appear to be safe for now… enjoy the low rates…