Tangerine has ratcheted up its competitiveness. For non-default insured mortgages, it is suddenly the national leader on four fixed terms: 2-year fixed at 1.64% 3-year fixed at 1.59% (lowest refi rate in the country) 4-year fixed at 1.69%, and 10-year fixed at 2.14%. These are exceptional rates for uninsured mortgages (which include refinances and purchases over $1 million), particularly if...

Despite record-low short-term interest rates, most banks are offering junk 1-, 2- and 3-year rates on uninsured mortgages through the broker channel. We’re seeing 5-year variable pricing as low as 1.45% or less at major banks. Yet, on a one-year fixed, for example, they quote mortgage brokers over 2.40%. That’s well above the discretionary rates bank customers are reporting to...

Our national housing agency wants to put your mind at ease, sort of. CMHC published its annual stress test this week. Its report claimed CMHC would remain solvent barring a catastrophic scenario entailing: a 48% home price crash, 25% unemployment, and no government intervention (full details here). The report made headlines across the media, as unlikely as some of its...

The government’s “B20” stress test has blocked countless people from buying rental properties as investments. The current 4.79% minimum qualifying rate means would-be buyers have to prove they can afford mortgage payments far above what they’d really pay. Fortunately for some borrowers, there are alternative lenders (e.g., credit unions) that don’t impose the federal stress test. They qualify borrowers on...

In Brief Today’s Announcement:No change to rates Overnight rate:0.25% Prime Rate:2.45% (also no change; seePrime Rate) Market Rate Forecast:No BoC hikes until late 2022 BoC’s Headline Quote: “The Governing Council will hold the policy interest rate at the effective lower bound until economic slack is absorbed so that the 2% inflation target is sustainably achieved. In our projection, this does...

If you’ve got a hankering for a mortgage with maximum rate assurance, none beats the 10-year fixed. But once Canada rounds the corner on its economic recovery, 10-year rates could climb faster than other mortgage rates. The reason: 10-year terms reflect longer-term economic expectations than 5-year terms, for example. As a result, they often react more to changes in the...

Variable rates on new mortgages could get a little cheaper this quarter, for one of four reasons, or maybe all four: Bankers’ acceptance (BA) rates — a general proxy for variable-rate funding costs — are at an all-time low. That’s boosted the spread between prime rate and BAs to almost a 12-year high. Think of that spread as a rough...

“What’s the lowest rate?” is one of those questions you can’t answer with one number. There are just too many factors that determine the rate someone pays. You have to ask more questions, like: How much equity do you have? Are you purchasing a home, refinancing, or just switching lenders? What term do you prefer? What province are you in?...

The Mortgage Report: Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. 5-year yields leaped to a 7-week high on Wednesday as Democrats took control of all three houses of government, thanks to their historic win in Georgia. Canada’s 5-year yield rose in sympathy by a less notable 2 bps, but economists nonetheless expect more of an incline in rates this year. The reason: Democrats...

The Mortgage Report: Jan. 4, 2021 2020 was a year that took pleasure in humiliating forecasters. From the remarkable bounce in housing, to the resilience of mortgage volumes, to the devastation in big-city rental markets, to the homeowner exodus from urban cores to the lows of contract mortgage rates, to the persistence of high qualifying rates — 2020 made the...