Mortgage Rate Outlook Archives

27Feb

TD becomes first major bank to hike fixed five-year mortgage rates amid surge in bond yields

[Globe and Mail - February 26, 2021] Bay Street expected higher interest rates – but not this high, this fast. And we’re now starting to see the impact on those shopping for mortgages. Canada’s five-year government bond yield, which leads fixed mortgage rates, surged past 1 per cent on Friday morning, its highest since before the Bank of Canada cut rates last March. That’s a 50-basis-point move in nine trading days, the likes of which we haven’t seen since 2010. (There [...]

Canada, Mortgage Rate Outlook, Vancouver Real Estate

16Jan

Money markets are betting Bank of Canada might make ‘micro rate cut’ next week

[Financial Post - January 12, 2021] TORONTO — Money markets see an increased chance of the Bank of Canada cutting interest rates closer to zero, as tightening economic restrictions to contain a second wave of COVID-19 cases offset optimism that activity will rebound later this year. Interest rates were thought to have hit rock bottom in Canada after they were slashed 150 basis points last March to a record low of 0.25 per cent, a level the Bank of Canada considered [...]

Bank of Canada announcements, Canada, Mortgage Rate Outlook

10Oct

Bank of Canada: Negative interest rate, ‘in the toolkit’

[RCI - October 9, 2020] Around the world economies are suffering from the effects of the pandemic and central banks have lowered interest rates as one measure to mitigate the effects. Here in Canada, several reports have indicated that an economic recovery which seemed to be underway in mid summer, has now stalled. COVID rates are up, especially in Canada’s two most populous and hardest hit provinces, Ontario and Quebec. Each has imposed new restrictions which further hurt the economy, especially businesses [...]

Economic Outlook, Mortgage Rate Outlook

24Jun

How to get around Canada’s harsh new mortgage rules – Come July 1, 2020, it will be a lot harder to get the feds to back your mortgage.

[Financial Post - June 16, 2020] The tighter lending rules coming into force July 1 will make it harder for some Canadians to buy homes, but mortgage pros say panicking won’t do you any good. The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) announced plans in early June to reduce borrowing limits, demand higher credit scores and restrict down payments for anyone who needs default insurance from the agency. That kind of insurance is mandatory for “high-ratio” buyers putting less than 20% [...]

Canada, Mortgage Rate Outlook

18Apr

Major lenders begin to cut fixed mortgage rates

[Globe and Mail - April 16, 2020] Fixed mortgage rates are creeping lower this week, as the funding markets that banks and other mortgage lenders use to raise money for loans have begun to normalize after weeks of outsized volatility. Toronto-Dominion Bank brought its five-year fixed rate down to 3.09 per cent from 3.24 per cent this week, and several other major lenders including Royal Bank of Canada and MCAP have also reduced their rates. Five-year fixed-rate mortgages ranged between 2.39 [...]

Canada, COVID-19, Economic Outlook, Mortgage Rate Outlook