Category: Mortgage Information

This article appeared in the Financial Post on January 22nd, 2014.

TORONTO — At least three more big Canadian banks have joined Royal Bank in quieting reducing some of their mortgage rates.

Bank of Montreal, Scotiabank and TD Canada Trust all lowered rates this week. Like RBC, none issued a news release announcing the changes. For example, Scotiabank lowered its five-year closed fixed term mortgage 10 basis points to 3.49% on its website Tuesday, down from 3.59% posted on the site Monday.

BMO, meanwhile, lowered a number of its rates between 10 and 20 basis points, including its posted five-year fixed rate to 3.69% from 3.89%, according to Ratehub.ca.

The changes, first reported by the Business in Canada website, follow a move on the weekend by RBC to quietly lower its rates on several fixed-rate mortgages by 10 basis points, bringing its five-year closed rate to 3.69%.

TD followed suit on Wednesday and now has a posted discounted rate of 3.69% for its five-year fixed mortgages, down from the rate of 3.79% that had been in effect since August. The bank has also made changes to several of its other closed rates.

RBC said in an email Monday that it was only matching lower rates offered by other financial institutions.

“Competitors have been pricing at lower rates for several weeks and this rate change now puts us in line,” the bank said.

Battling between banks lowered rates to 2.99% for a five-year fixed-rate mortgage last year, a percentage that drew the ire of Jim Flaherty, the finance minister. At that rate, the banks were barely above discounters.

Discounters still have an edge heading into the spring market, as banks have been reluctant to pass on all of the savings in the bond market.

One might say we are entering a busier period for home buying so we will see a more competitive marketplace [in 2014]

Jim Murphy, chief executive of the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals, said 2013 turned out to be a major year for discounting with the average consumer saving 2.12 percentage on points on a five-year closed fixed-rate mortgage. The average rate for that term was 3.06% while average posted rate for the term was 5.21% in 2013.

“One might say we are entering a busier period for home buying so we will see a more competitive marketplace [in 2014],” Mr. Murphy said.

The other issue for some lenders is trying to make up for ground lost because of skinny margins in 2013, said Wade Stayzer, vice-president of retail and investment services of Meridian, the largest credit union in Ontario.

A shrinking market for housing sales could put its own pressure on the market. “Corporate targets don’t drop when financial forecasts drop. Everybody is out chasing the same mortgage,” said Mr. Stayzer.

This article appeared on the Globe and Mail‘s website on January 20th, 2014 and was written by Tara Perkins.

Royal Bank of Canada, the country’s largest mortgage lender, has quietly cut some of its mortgage rates this weekend. The move appears to be part of a broader dip in rates, although economists generally still expect an increase in 2014.

Five-year fixed mortgage rates rose industry-wide for much of 2013, from their low of 2.64 per cent in April to their high of 3.39 per cent in September, according to Alyssa Richard, the chief executive officer of RateHub.ca. They edged down a bit later in the fall but had generally been steady at around 3.25 per cent since then.

RBC is now cutting its two-, three-, four– and five-year fixed mortgage rates each by 10 basis points. In an emailed statement, the bank said that some mortgage lenders have recently been pricing at lower rates, prompting it to move.

Royal Bank is often a price leader when it comes to mortgages, and other big banks frequently follow suit after it changes its prices. Its five-year fixed mortgage rate is now 3.69 per cent.

Mortgage prices tend to follow changes in five-year government bond yields because of the impact that those yields have on banks’ funding costs. The yield on five-year government of Canada bonds has fallen from 1.95 per cent on December 31st to 1.71 per cent on January 16th, according to Bank of Canada data, although it fluctuated during that time.

Canadian bond yields tend to follow U.S. bond yields. Yields began rising last May after U.S. employment numbers came in much better than expected, raising hopes for the U.S. economy. Then they shot up further after U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke suggested the central bank could start tapering its asset-buying program, a signal that he thought the economy’s health was improving.

While the U.S. central bank has begun tapering, December jobs numbers and some other recent data have been disappointing, and caused bond yields to fall.

Most economists still expect that both yields and mortgage rates will tick up gradually through 2014, as the U.S. economy improves and the central bank continues to back off of its asset-buying program, known as quantitative easing.

But as Ms. Richard points out, it is possible that the U.S. economy will prove to be weaker than expected, and that could result in further decreases in bond yields and mortgage rates.

Royal Bank of Canada, which normally issues a press release when it changes its mortgage rates, made this move quietly, simply posting the new rates on its site. The news was reported this weekend by the blog Canadian Mortgage Trends.

Bank of Montreal dropped its five-year rate to 2.99 per cent early last year, spurring a price battle that angered Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. Mr. Flaherty has taken numerous steps, such as tightening the mortgage insurance rules, to prevent consumers from taking on too much mortgage debt. Policy-makers have been trying to warn consumers that, at some point, rates will rise.

This article appeared on CBC.ca on August 6th, 2013.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. is putting a cap on the amount of mortgage-backed securities sold by banks that it is willing to guarantee.

A spokesperson with CMHC confirmed media reports Monday that the national housing agency will, effective immediately, limit banks and other mortgage lenders to $350 million worth of new mortgage-backed securities per month. The decision comes in the wake of “unexpected demand” for the guarantees, a spokeswoman for CMHC said in an emailed statement.

Under the National Housing Act Mortgage-Backed Securities (NHA MBS) program, banks have been able to securitize large portions of the mortgages they carry on their books. Because those securities are backed by CMHC, not the banks themselves, they’re able to go out and lend that freed-up money to new homebuyers at lower prices, which adds fuel to Canada’s housing fire.

Earlier this year, Ottawa announced it would limit the amount of those mortgage-backed securities that it would guarantee to $85 billion this year. That’s a rise from from $76 billion in 2012.

But by the end of July, barely over halfway through the year, the banks had already tapped the program for as much as $66 billion, hence the need for the cap to stay under the annual limit.

CMHC said Monday no one lender will get guarantees for more than $350 million worth of securities per month, from now on.

The move takes some of the air out of the housing market by forcing banks and other lenders to be responsible for the risk of mortgage defaults, instead of being able to pass that risk on to government and taxpayers via the CMHC.

It’s the latest move from a government that’s getting increasingly vigilant about its attempts to cool down the housing market. After loosening rules to allow for no-money-down mortgages of more than 40 years a half-decade ago, the federal government has taken multiple steps to ratchet those rules tighter again, limiting new mortgages to no longer than 25 years, and requiring a minimum down payment of five per cent of the value of the home.

Those moves were targeted directly at the homebuying public. But moves such as the one revealed Monday target the banks themselves, by effectively limiting the amount of money they have at their disposal to lend out in mortgages.

In the spring, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty went as far as publicly criticizing a number of lenders for encouraging reckless spending by offering mortgages with historically low interest rates.

The last time CMHC disclosed its data, the housing agency had $562.6 billion worth of mortgages on its books, getting close to its legally mandated limit of $600 billion.

When your mortgage comes up for renewal, your lender will send you a letter suggesting you renew at their current offer. If you do, you’ll be renewing your mortgage with your eyes closed! This is your moment of opportunity to negotiate the best possible deal, either with your current lender or with a new one. Do you know if the same lender remains your best choice? If you don’t, you aren’t alone.

At the end of 2011, Manulife Bank of Canada released the results of their latest consumer debt survey.  They found that two-thirds of homeowners (65 per cent) did not compare products from several different lenders to make sure they were getting the best deal the last time their mortgage came up for renewal. Twenty per cent stayed with their current lender and did not negotiate, while 45 per cent stayed and negotiated but did not shop the market.  Interestingly, the youngest age group surveyed (30-39) were the most likely to shop around (41 per cent) but also the most likely to stay with their current lender and not negotiate (24 per cent). This age group is in the most hectic period of balancing work and children, which often causes things to be left to the last minute and it’s easier to follow the path of least resistance.

You could save a considerable amount of money if you renew at a lower rate.  A half percent difference on a $225,000 mortgage with a 20 year amortization can mean over $5,200 in interest savings over five years.  Wouldn’t it be better to put that amount towards reducing your mortgage principal?

You also need to consider that your mortgage needs may have changed.  This may be a good time to roll your high-interest credit cards and other debt into your mortgage to get one lower payment, boost your cash flow and save on interest costs. Or you may want to take some equity out for renovations, a second property or for investing.

Keep in mind that there are some administrative details and costs when switching your mortgage to another lender, but don’t let this discourage you from finding out more. It doesn’t cost you anything to investigate your options or get a second opinion. When you switch your mortgage to a new lender, you will go through an approval process similar to when you took out the original mortgage. You can either assign your existing mortgage or you can apply for a new one should you want to borrow a larger amount to consolidate your high interest debt or complete some renovations.

Your lender may charge a discharge fee, and you may need to pay legal and appraisal fees if you are getting a completely new mortgage instead of switching your existing one. At that point, you should assess if the money you will save by switching to a better interest rate offsets those costs. The cost for you mortgage life insurance may also change. You won’t have to pay for your mortgage broker’s service (oac) because the lender selected pays compensation for the services and mortgage solution provided to you.

If a renewal is in your financial future, bring us your renewal notice four months prior to your renewal date. There are some great options out there; we’ll help you look around.

Brenda Colman, AMP, Mortgage Consultant, Invis Kamloops

P. 250-318-8118  E. ac.sivni@namlocadnerb W. www.BrendaColman.ca