Skip to content

Tagvariable rates

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 Here come the calls to lock into a Fixed Rate Mortgage News

Here come the calls to lock into a Fixed Rate

Last week we saw the Bank of Canada raise the Key Rate by 0.25% and the Banks quickly raised Bank Prime lending rate to 2.75%.  For those in a Variable rate mortgage, the question of whether to lock into a fixed rate is coming up again.

No surprise, the media has started the fear mongering and the so-called ‘Experts’ are suggesting that it’s time to lock into fixed rates, once again….  This article came out today and I’m not surprised that these ‘Experts’ have quickly jumped on the band wagon with talk of ‘rates hikes’ and ‘higher housing costs’ to get their name in lights…  click here and judge for yourself.

The real question is ‘how much does the Bank of Canada need to raise the Key Rate to control inflation and economic growth?’   And earlier this year, we reported on Ben Tal’s, Senior Economist with CIBC, forecast that the Bank Prime only needs to increase by no more than 3.00%….and that this is the most it should increase… but it will take around 2 years or longer to get there… if they get there at all….   click here for the full report.

So why would anyone lock into a mortgage at over 4.00% today, when they could enjoy rates of just over 2.00% and slowly see their rates rise?   If you know that answer, please share with me…

We all have different needs and there isn’t a ‘one size fits all mortgage’…  seek professional, unbiased advice…get a strategy in place…. monitor the market and stay informed and you’ll always make the right decision.

Posted Mortgage News

Are you one of these people?

Was reading this survey about First Time Home Buyers that TD Canada Trust did recently...

Thought the most interesting stat was that 3/4 of the people surveyed were opting for a Fixed Rate mortgage.   And in the same paragraph, the TD rep acknowledged that Variable Rate mortgages performed better… Does any of this sound familiar?

Here’s some more good news.. well, actually it’s bad news for the Stock Market and investor confidence but it’s good news for interest rates… The 5 year Canada Bond has dropped significantly…  We were at 2.33% at one point today… meaning 5 year fixed mortgage rates should really be hovering around 3.80%… but instead we are seeing best rates at around 4.29%…   WHY?  Pure profit taking by the Banks…

But don’t fret…this uncertainty means there is less chance for rates to increase and less chance they will increase significantly…. And for those in a Variable rate, rates of 3.80% and 4.29% are still too high….  Variable rate mortgage clients are enjoying 2.00% or better…   Enjoy the summer!

Posted Mortgage News

Expecting a June 1st rate hike

It seems like a rate hike is almost certain for tomorrow’s Bank of Canada meeting.. but we need to put this in perspective… The Bank of Canada has not raised rates since July 2007… and Mr. Carney has never raised the Target rate since he took his place as Governor…. (he should be a popular person among Canadian borrowers).

But let’s put it in perspective…even if the Variable rate doubles to 4.50% from it’s current 2.25%, we would still be in historically low interest rate territory when it comes to variable mortgage rates…

A 25bps or 50bps or even a 100bps increase should only slow the housing market and not kill it….. Remember, these are EMERGENCY RATES…. The Emergency is over.. and we should want it be over…  We should be happy that we’ve been able to enjoy these record low rates for so long…..  the sky isn’t falling…  we won’t be seeing rates of 9% or 10% or anything near that level…