In 18 days the Fed is expected to do what it’s virtually never done: inflate the U.S. economy with a rate cut — despite 50-year lows in unemployment and record highs in stocks. Some argue the Fed is dangerously veering off its normal course, that Trump’s browbeating of Powell is working. The risk is clear: more inflation. And inflation is...
Canada’s rate czars stunned no one this morning. Theyleft the country’s most important rate unchanged. Here’s a quick look at the BoC’s statement: Rate Decision:No change Overnight rate: Remains at1.75% Prime Rate: Remains at 3.95% Market Rate Forecast:No change to prime through 2020 BoC’s Headline Quote: “…the Canadian economy is returning to potential growth. However, the outlook is clouded by...
Ever since decade-long mortgages slipped under 3% for the first time in May, those offering such rates have fielded more inquiries than ever before. And today, we saw another record breaker, with Sigma Mortgage offering the lowest 10-year fixed of all time: 2.89% (details below). But the more interesting aspect may be this: The company who just advertised that rate...
motusbank just launched the lowest fixed rate in Canada for an uninsured mortgage: 2.49%. It’s the cheapest widely available 2-year fixed since September 2017. Compare that to the lowest nationally-available conventional variable (2.84% from HSBC) and it begs the question: Why bother floating your rate? For default insured borrowers in Ontario, this question is even more imperative. That’s because DUCA...
The latest intel from Canada’s mortgage market… Rates Bounce Bigly Canada’s 5-year bond yieldcatapulted to 1.53% on Friday. Its 11-basis-point gain was the biggest since June 2017. That establishes at least a short-term bottom and suggests the best fixed mortgage rates probably won’t drop much more near-term. In fact, if yields close up in the 1.60’s, the lowest 5-year fixed...
In a normal universe, people who lock in a floating-rate mortgage lock into a fixed rate. And that fixed rate is almost always higher than their current variable rate. But this is not a normal universe. In the world we now live in, variable borrowers are actually locking into five-year fixed rates that are lower than their current rate. For...
Back in 2016 some poor souls were getting variable-rate mortgages with unsavoury discounts. We’re talking prime – 0.50% or worse in some cases. That compares to prime – 1.00% or better today. If you’re in this boat, you need to do some math because breaking your mortgage early may be your best option. Here’s a simple example. Assume you’ve got...
…You’re older, a lone-parent, making a modest income and living in the Prairies. That’s a sampling of insight from this new StatsCan study. Newer lenders could find this report interesting, given they always want to know who’s most likely to miss a mortgage payment. StatsCan’sresearchalso downplays the highly publicized “debt-to-income ratio,” which makes news headlines every quarter. The agency writes...
Not much going on this weekend. Only a little meeting between the world’s two most powerful leaders about 2019’s single most important economic issue. U.S. prez Trump and Chinese supreme head communist guy, Xi, collide over trade ahead of Saturday’s G-20 summit in Japan. And, batten down the hatches, because it has the potential to be a short-term tide changer...
TD and CIBC just became the first Big 6 banks to advertise 5-year fixed rates below 3% since 2017. This morning, TD and CIBC chopped their advertised 5-year fixed specials by 32 basis points (to 2.97%) and 30 bps (to 2.99%), respectively. Banks seldom cut that much in one sitting. Albeit, sources tell us both banks have been selling 5-year...
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