On June 1st the Bank of Canada (BoC) increased the Prime Rate 1% to 1.5%, an increase of 0.50% that was widely anticipated by the markets. For consumer banks and mortgage lenders, this means they will be raising their consumer Prime rates from 3.2% up to 3.7% on all variable and adjustable rate mortgages as well as Lines of Credit.… Read More »
Prime Rate now expected to increase aggressively through 2022. Should I lock in?
The Bank of Canada (BoC) will be meeting next on Wednesday April 13, 2022, and in the last couple of weeks its senior officials have been giving speeches indicating that we should brace for faster and larger Prime Rate increases than they predicted earlier this year. Inflation numbers are coming in stronger than expected and the BoC is going to… Read More »
Prime Rate is Increasing Soon. What should I do?
The Bank of Canada (BoC) will be meeting next Wednesday (March 2, 2022), and most economists and forecasters expect that it will raise the Prime lending rate by 0.25%. This will be the first rate increase we’ve seen since the BoC slashed rates at the start of the pandemic in early 2020. Why is Prime Increasing? The BoC is expected… Read More »
Tighter Rules Coming for CMHC Mortgage Insurance
Last week, CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation) announced that effective July 1, 2020 it will be tightening the rules for high ratio mortgage qualification. Specifically, the following 3 changes will come into effect: The maximum allowed Gross Debt Servicing (GDS) and Total Debt Servicing (TDS) ratios will be reduced to 35% (from 39%) and 42% (from 44%), respectively. At… Read More »
Post 2019 Election – Liberal Minority and Mortgage Rate Outlook
Well, the Election was interesting, wasn’t it? With new Liberal minority government the future for mortgage rates is still a bit up in the air. Today, as expected, the Bank of Canada (BOC) decided to hold their prime lending rate at 1.75%, which means most banks and credit unions will keep their consumer Prime Rates at 3.95% (so no immediate… Read More »
Lenders increase Prime rate. Does it affect you?
On October 24, 2018 the Bank of Canada increased the overnight lending rate by 0.25% to 1.75%. This caused consumer banks and mortgage companies to raise their consumer prime lending rates by 0.25% as well, passing the increase on to consumers. An increase in prime will immediately affect you if you have a “variable” or “adjustable” rate mortgage, or a Line of Credit with… Read More »
Bank of Canada increases interest rate by 0.25%
On September 6, 2017 the Bank of Canada increased the overnight rate by 0.25%, causing prime lending rates at financial institutions to increase by the same amount. If you have a variable rate mortgage… The impact this increase will have on your mortgage payment will depend on the size as well as the amortization period, but you can estimate the increase… Read More »
Additional Details Revealed for the BC HOME Partnership Loan Program
While an interest free loan sounds great at first glance, it looks like the new BC Home Owner Mortgage & Equity (BC HOME) Partnership is going to have some extra fees and restrictions to consider that may, in the end, make the program a lot less attractive that we’d hope. It’s been an interesting start to 2017 in the BC mortgage… Read More »
Big Mortgage Rule Changes Coming October 17th, 2016
In 2 weeks time, many Canadians are going to find it much more difficult to buy the home they want. New mortgage rules are coming into effect at CMHC which will require all high-ratio mortgages to qualify for 5 year mortgages using the Bank of Canada qualifying rate (currently 4.64%) instead of at the actual mortgage rate (currently about 2.44%). High… Read More »
The difference between bank and broker mortgages
Great article here on the Globe and Mail about key differences between bank mortgages and those arranged through mortgage brokers. Explains how the big banks use ‘discretionary pricing’ to get you paying higher interest rates, and how they charge much higher penalties if you need to break your mortgage early. //www.theglobeandmail.com/…/dont-judg…/article23526054/