News, Views and Trends!
Did you hear the news? Or did you miss it? Last week the Bank of Canada announced they would stop buying Canada Mortgage Bonds. But it seems like nobody is talking about this.
Why should you be paying attention to this?
Continue reading “What’s happening with Canada Mortgage Bonds?”
As the dust starts to settle on yesterday’s Bank of Canada rate cut, here’s some clarification on what happens next.
To all my pending clients or clients with something on the go, your rates will be automatically adjusted downward.
For new clients, prospective purchasers, or people that want to take advantage of these falling rates, don’t hesitate to reach out to my office today. I am happy to discuss how you can take advantage of this.
Your best interest is my only interest.
As always, I welcome your comments, calls and questions.
Steve Garganis 416 224 0114 steve@mortgagenow.ca
Mortgage rates fell by about 1% since January of this year. That rate drop has created a surge in real estate sales across Canada, with September and October seeing a greater than average number of real estate transactions. We also saw consumers taking advantage of these low rates by refinancing their mortgages early.
The Five-Year Government of Canada bond yields have been going up and down like a yo-yo over the last three months, with a low point being 1.13% and a high of 1.58% just this past week. This uncertainty/volatility forced financial institutions to raise their interest rate by about .2% to .3%. Having said that, interest rates are still very low. In my discussions with the major lenders, they are all telling me that it’s busier than usual for home purchases and refinance purposes. Continue reading “Important week for mortgage rates could cost or save you thousands.”
If I gave the option of choosing between two cell phones, which would you choose? Both phones had similar specs and were identical in almost every way… except PHONE one came in a nicely gift wrapped box with a bow on it. PHONE two came in a brown paper bag but was less expensive and also had slightly better options.
Most of us would choose PHONE two right? Wrong! When it comes to mortgages, most of us are focusing too much on the beautiful gift box and not paying enough attention to the contents. They say around 47% of all mortgages go through a BANK and 39% go through a Mortgage Broker. Broker share is up, but not enough in my opinion.
When it comes to mortgages, historically the BIG SIX BANKS have been charging higher rates than what can be had from MORTGAGE BROKERS. (see Bank of Canada study ‘competition in the Canadian mortgage market). And their inflated prepayment penalty calculations are now infamous (typical BIG SIX BANK penalties are around 4 times higher than other lenders).
Continue reading “Are you looking at the beautiful box or what’s inside?”
WAS THIS A BIG MISTAKE?
Last week, Stephen Poloz, the Bank of Canada Governor, kept the Prime Rate as is during the 6th of their eight scheduled meetings for 2019. The Current Target rate is 1.75%. (Bank Prime rate is derived from this rate. Today’s Bank Prime rate is 3.95%. Over 99% of time, when the Target Rate is cut, the Banks will reduce the Bank Prime Rate by an equal amount).
This was a very calculated decision that has politics written all over it. While the rest of the world banks have been cutting rates to combat a looming recession due to growing global trade wars and slowing global economies, our Government did nothing. Apparently, the Canadian economy is ‘resilient’. The next Bank of Canada meeting is set for October 30, 2019. Oh, and there’s a Federal election on Oct 21, 2019. Yeah, this has politics written all over it.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT MORTGAGE RATES TODAY. Continue reading “Why didn’t the Bank of Canada Gov cut rates last week?”
