For mortgage rate watchers, it’s been an action-packed week.
The Bank of Canada and United States Federal Reserve both convened, both flagged rising inflation risk and both responded by sitting perfectly still on rates .
That buys variable-rate holders more time, or, if you believe inflation hawks, a stay of execution.
The question is how long the warden is willing to wait.
Should oil stay above $100 a barrel for another month, April’s inflation print look as forecasters fear and monthly inflation expectations keep ratcheting higher, traders will start pencilling in rate hikes that aren’t theoretical anymore.
That would make the nearly half of borrowers currently picking variable rates considerably less serene about their choice.
People continue to bite on variables, mainly for the upfront 45- to 65-basis-point advantage. They remain cheerfully unflustered by growing inflation risk and the amazing fixed-rate offers still available.
Meanwhile, for Ontario residents who prefer their rate locked down with the deadbolt engaged, Ratebuzz is still posting 3.99 per cent. And that’s on uninsured mortgages too.
(How Ratebuzz pulls that rate off — given current funding costs and the fact it’s just a broker, not a lender — I genuinely have no idea. But that’s somebody else’s problem, not the borrower’s.)
On the default-insured side, B.C.’s Coast Capital Savings is dangling a 3.89 per cent five-year, and it’s good even for 30-year amortizations.
And, if it’s a three-year you crave, Ratebuzz rules with 3.94 per cent (insured) and Manitoba’s Assiniboine Credit Union leads nationally-advertised offers at 3.99 per cent (uninsured).
Robert McLister is a mortgage strategist, interest rate analyst and editor of MortgageLogic.news. You can follow him on X at @RobMcLister.
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