The Bank of Canada and the U.S. Federal Reserve continued to slash their policy rates last week. My next fixed vs. variable simulation will be postponed until these five key questions are answered.
The Bank of Canada (BoC) meets this week and the consensus believes the Bank will finally cut its policy rate. Today’s post outlines the factors that are driving that view, and offers my take on why I think the BoC will stand pat (tough call though that is).
Last week our federal government announced that it will change the way the Bank of Canada calculates the stress-test rate that lenders use to qualify all insured mortgage applications. In today’s post I will explain what changed and offer five key observations relating to it.
The terms and conditions in your mortgage contract can have a surprisingly significant impact on your overall borrowing cost. My link in today's post provides a detailed example.
Last week TD Bank lowered its posted five-year rate to 4.99%. TD’s move by itself isn’t enough to drop the stress-test rate. Other Big Six banks will need to follow. That’s where this gets interesting.
Contagion fears are stoking demand for safe-haven assets, such as sovereign bonds, putting downward pressure on their yields, and by association, the fixed mortgage rates that are priced on them.
The Bank of Canada offered a decidedly more cautious outlook last week. Government of Canada bond yields fell in response and five-year fixed rates started dropping shortly thereafter.