—The Mortgage Report: Oct. 23— It seems HSBC Canada may start selling through mortgage brokers once again. The bank had a “Head of Mortgage Broker Channel” job posting on its website until this morning. We then confirmed with a separate reliable source that the news appears to be true. HSBC was not able to comment by press time. The move...

—The Mortgage Report: Oct. 7— Toronto condo listings have exploded 215% to a record high, reports Bloomberg. And they’re projected to be even higher in October, according to HouseSigma. Driving that surprising number: skittish investors (many with negative cash flow given surging rental listings and a 14% y/y drop in rents) “elevator phobia” people coming off mortgage deferrals relatively higher...

Lest you think too many mimosas at Sunday brunch impacted our headline choices today, fear not. As long-time readers can attest, we don’t hype interest rate timing around here. Guessing rate direction beyond the short term can be like guessing solar flare intensity. It ain’t easy. Professional economists with big fat salaries botch rate predictions for a living. Yet, many...

Not One and Done If you’re going to gamble on a short-term rate, you could do a lot worse than 1.29%. On a contract rate basis, that’s the lowest fixed mortgage rate Canada has ever seen. And it’s probably not done dropping yet. This latest one-year offer is available in select provinces and applies to high-ratio and insurable mortgages up...

Bond yields heavily influence what people pay for a mortgage. In general, the more government bond-buying there is, the lower fixed mortgage rates go. Explainer: Bond prices and bond rates (yields) always move inversely. Fixed mortgage rates are benchmarked against bond yields. Governments around the world are manipulating mortgage rates by buying their nations’ own debt. Take the U.S. Federal...

—The Mortgage Report: Sept. 18— Variable Discounts Improve Further Bankers are making more dinero on floating-rate loans. That’s motivating them to cough up some profit and sharpen their variable rate pencils. Online brokers are now effectively as low as prime – 0.93% on default-insured variables in some provinces. Uninsured customers (including those refinancing) get milked for more, as usual, but...

—The Mortgage Report: Sept. 15— Never before has Canada seen an uninsured 5-year fixed nationally advertised for 1.84%. But on Tuesday we saw it, courtesy of Tangerine. At 1.84%, Tangerine’s rate is now just 4 basis points above the lowest nationally advertised uninsured variable rate. As usual, you’ll find even lower default-insured and insurable 5-year fixed offers if you shop...

—The Mortgage Report: Sept. 10— CIBC has dropped the following special fixed rates: 5yr (high-ratio): 2.07% to 1.97% 5yr (uninsured): 2.24% to 2.14% 7yr: 2.71% to 2.61% It’s the first time ever that a Big 6 Canadian bank has widely and openly advertised a 5-year fixed rate under 2%, albeit it’s only on default-insured mortgages. This development is more symbolic...

Quick Rundown 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 at least 2023 BoC’s Headline Quote: “The Governing Council will hold the policy interest rate at the effective lower bound [intended to be 0.25%] until economic slack is absorbed so that the 2% inflation target is sustainably achieved.”...

—The Mortgage Report: Sept. 8— One of the most important factors determining your success with a mortgage is the rate, relative to other rates you could have chosen. Over the long run and other things equal: The higher your rate relative to other rate options, the worse your odds of success. The lower your rate relative to other rate options,...