On Wednesday, September 6th at their regular policy meeting, the Bank of Canada (BoC) decided to keep their Policy Rate steady at 5%. This means that most banks will hold their consumer Prime Rate steady at 7.20%, and there will be no changes to the payment amounts for Variable rate mortgage holders. This was expected by most banks and economists,… Read More »
Start Preparing Now for Your Next Mortgage Term: A cold winter is coming; don’t be a grasshopper, be an ant
If your mortgage term matures in the next 2 years, you should act now to find out what you should expect for your next term’s monthly payment amount. It is probably going to be much higher than you expect and you should begin preparing now. – The future is coming. Part of me feels ridiculous writing that, but when I… Read More »
Inflation is higher. What does it mean for me?
Statistics Canada released it’s July inflation report yesterday, and the CPI headline inflation rate rose from 2.8% in June to 3.3% for July. To put it bluntly, that’s not good news for mortgage rates. However, a closer look at the data shows that mortgage interest, energy and grocery prices are the 3 culprits in pushing headline inflation up. If you… Read More »
Rate Update – July 2023
For the second time in a row, the Bank of Canada (BoC) announced it is increasing it’s Policy Interest rate by 0.25% (up to 5%). This means that most banks will immediately increase their consumer Prime Rate from 6.95% to 7.20% – the highest the Policy Interest rate has been in 22 years (since April 2001). In its announcement, the… Read More »
Rate Update – June 2023
After announcing a “pause” back in January and 2 consecutive meetings where rates held steady, the Bank of Canada (BoC) today announced it is increasing it’s Policy Interest rate by 0.25% (up to 4.75%). This means that most banks will immediately increase their consumer Prime Rate from 6.7% to 6.95%. In its announcement, the BoC indicated that “excess demand in… Read More »
Prime Rate Predictions for Summer
The data in the last couple of weeks has not been great regarding the fight against inflation. In the U.S., the PCE (Personal Consumption Expenditures) index rose slightly from March to April and services inflation jumped substantially as month over month. It’s looking very likely the Fed is going to have to continue raising this summer, with an expected 0.25%… Read More »
Rate Update – April 2023
For the second meeting in a row, the Bank of Canada (BoC) announced it is holding the overnight Prime lending rate unchanged for the next 6 weeks. The BoC’s overnight lending rate is currently at 4.5%, which means that most banks are calculating their consumer Prime Rate as 6.70%. In its announcement, the BoC indicated that they continue to assess… Read More »
New Anti-Flipping Rules from the Federal Government
New anti-house-flipping federal tax rules came into effect this year (Jan 1, 2023) aimed to reduce speculation and encourage long-term home ownership. These rules will now tax the profits from the sale of residential property as business income if the seller owned the property for fewer than 12 months. This means the sale of the property held for less than… Read More »
Rate Update – March 2023
Today the Bank of Canada (BoC) announced that it would keep the overnight Prime lending rate unchanged for the next 6 weeks. The BoC’s overnight lending rate is currently at 4.5%. You can find our best mortgage rates here. Variable Rate Analysis It was largely expected for the BoC to leave Prime unchanged at this meeting, after the BoC indicated… Read More »
Fixed Rates on the Rise!
Fixed rates are moving up – if you’re thinking of buying in the spring, you should get pre-approved and lock in a rate hold now. January’s inflation numbers came out for the U.S. today, and while they did show a slight decrease from December on most measures, the decrease was less than many banks and investors were hoping to see.… Read More »
