RateSupermarket.ca’s panel of financial gurus expect mortgage rates will remain level during September

TORONTO, Sept 2, 2010… RateSupermarket.ca, consumers go-to shop for comparing Canadian mortgage rates offered by banks, mortgage brokers, and credit unions, has announced the results of their Mortgage Rate Outlook Panel for September 2010.

Canadians should expect both fixed and variable mortgage rates to hold steady in September.

Fixed mortgage rates: Unchanged (with downward bias)

Canadian consumers were handed a treat when fixed mortgage rates dropped back down to historic low levels in August. Our Panel of experts believe September will be very similar with a small possibility of further downward movement.

Increasing concern in both Canada and the US on the strength of an economic recovery has dampened the Canadian bond market and put a lid on fixed mortgage rates for the time being. As well, banks are fighting for fewer new mortgage clients as housing sales slow down, and with less borrowers out there the competition will heat up; a perfect environment for price cutting.

Variable mortgage rates: Unchanged

We’ve seen economic predictions change very quickly over the past few months and it’s happened again. The Bank of Canada was widely expected to increase rates once more next week and then pause while they reviewed the impact of these hikes. However, recent news about slower economic growth and lower inflation is giving Governor Mark Carney good reason to not increase interest rates, and our Panel expects variable mortgage rates to stay where they are.

To read all the detailed commentary from our panel members, please visit:

http://www.ratesupermarket.ca/mortgage_rate_outlook_panel/

About the Mortgage Rate Outlook Panel

The panel includes some of the country’s top mortgage experts, and helps Canadian consumers make informed decisions by offering a short-term outlook for fixed and variable mortgage rates.

This month’s panel members:

About RateSupermarket.ca (www.ratesupermarket.ca)

RateSupermarket.ca is an independent, impartial resource that is not affiliated with any mortgage lender or broker. It is the only resource in Canada that allows visitors to compare the whole mortgage market in the country. RateSupermarket.ca also compares insurance products, credit cards and GIC rates.

Kelvin Mangaroo on CTV News discussing the Canadian housing market.

A think tank released a report today outlining the possibility that Canada’s housing market bubble could be heading for a big burst. RateSupermarket.ca’s President, Kelvin Mangaroo, was asked to discuss this on CTV News today with anchor Dan Matheson.

You can view the full video here.

The Globe and Mail did a story yesterday on the new credit card regulations coming into effect later this week and included RateSupermarket.ca in the article.

The three main new credit card regulations coming into effect on September 1st, 2010 are:

Card issuers have to give borrowers a minimum 21-day grace period

Customer payments must be put against the highest outstanding interest rates first (or at least proportionally)

Credit card statements will need to be clearer

The consumer debt charity Credit Canada also list some great tips on [...] Continue Reading…

Congratulations – your new mortgage contract has been signed.

After the task of researching mortgage rates, speaking to a mortgage expert, weighing the options for fixed versus variable, length of term and payment schedules, gathering the appropriate documents and negotiating the details, you can now sit-back relax and forget about your debt for another 3-5 years.

Well, not exactly. Don’t start brushing your new mortgage under the rug just yet. There is one more very important piece to the mortgage puzzle that should not be forgotten – mortgage insurance.

After your mortgage has been approved, you [...] Continue Reading…

Mortgage shoppers have even more reason to celebrate this month as fixed mortgage rates have dropped again. For the 4th time in the past month many of the big banks including RBC, TD and CIBC have dropped their 4 and 5 year fixed rates by 0.10%.

Fixed rates are heading lower as their main influence, Government bond yields, continue to dive as the benchmark 5 year bond yield is down 5.3% just today to 2.028 at 10.30am on August 24, 2008. With the spread between bond yields and fixed mortgage rates increasing, looking at historic spreads, there is [...] Continue Reading…

Well some good news today for first time home buyers and home owners as fixed mortgage rates dropped again as RBC, CIBC, Scotiabank and Laurentian Bank announced the latest mortgage rate changes of -0.10% for most fixed rates. These new lower rates take effect today, August 17, 2010.

This comes on the heels of the latest CREA report that showed national home sales and house prices declined significantly last month. Seasonally adjusted home sales activity across Canada declined 6.8% from June and down 30% than July 2009.The Prairies and Quebec were level while BC (-14%) and Ontario (-8%) accounted [...] Continue Reading…

TORONTO, Aug 5, 2010… RateSupermarket.ca, Canada’s rate comparison website for personal finance products such as mortgages, insurance, credit cards and GICs has announced the results of their Mortgage Rate Outlook Panel for August 2010.

Canadians should expect lower fixed mortgage rates as lenders respond to dropping bond yields, while variable mortgage rates should increase following the Bank of Canada’s rate announcement at the beginning of September.

Fixed mortgage rates: Down

The majority of our panel members believe fixed mortgage rates will decrease in August, and during the first few days of the month we have already seen [...] Continue Reading…

RBC announced today that they’re dropping their fixed mortgage rates by 0.10%, which is effective for tomorrow August 4, 2010. This brings down their benchmark posted 5 year fixed mortgage rate to 5.59%. This rate decrease is mainly in response to the drop in the five government bond yield of almost 8% just in the past week. We expect the other major mortgage lenders to follow suit later this week.

We saw the best five year fixed mortgage rate for a quick close (ie. the deal must close within 45 days) drop to 3.89% this week as [...] Continue Reading…

Well, interest rates have been rising over the past two months, as the Bank of Canada has increased the overnight rate by 0.50% since the beginning of June. As a result, Canadian’s have had their variable mortgage rates go up by the same amount, while fixed mortgage rates have stayed relatively level or even dropped slightly during that time (although this is due to government bond yields rather than interest rates). View more details on fixed versus variable mortgage rates. But what has this meant for GIC rates? And what influences GIC rates?

Ally Bank [...] Continue Reading…

The big Canadian banks including RBC, TD, CIBC, Scotiabank and BMO all increased their Prime lending rates as expected by 0.25% to 2.75%, effective July 21, after the Bank of Canada’s rate hike earlier in th week.

Variable mortgage rates have gone up as well, including those offered by brokers, as previously the best mortgage rate for a 5 year variable closed was 1.75% and this has now increased to 2.00% (see below).

Prime & variable mortgage rates update
* as of July 21, 2010

Lender or broker
Prime rate
Change (%)
[...] Continue Reading…