Mortgage Update

Under Real Estate, toronto


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Written on May 1st, 2018

Here is an update from our mortgage go-to guy Jake Abramowicz:

“Everything you wanted to know about rates…and some things you maybe didn’t!
Mortgage rates are going up across the board with almost every single lender and bank. Why? Simple! Mortgage rates are very closely tied to bond yields and as you can tell by this lovely chart, we’re at the highest point we have been in over 3 years:
So what this says is two things. If “the trend is your friend” as they say, then the trend is we’re going to see even higher rates moving forward. Also, we had a pretty good run of very VERY low rates, for a very VERY long time! From July 2015 to July 2017 where a lot of our clients got 2.19-2.49% 5-year fixed. (I hope they paid attention to my advice to pay down their debt but… I don’t know).
So now that we know where rates are going, let’s talk about the different types of rates available today.
For PURCHASES:
If you’re buying a house for over $1M, your best bet is to go to a bank lender like TD or Scotia. Due to the ridiculous changes that happened over the past 2 years, and due to the idiotic idea that CMHC thinks $1M should be their total ceiling for financing properties, the banks have this market cornered.
Today, for example, the best 5-year bank rate is 3.44% 30-year amortization. This applies to any purchase price over or under $1M, and, applies to longest amortization.
If you bought a house for $999,999 or under and if you have 20% down OR MORE and if you’re OK with (or you qualify for) 25-year amortization at the stress-test, you can get as low as 3.24% 5-year fixed. These rates are only offered by mortgage lenders and not banks and are only for mortgages. No fancy HELOCs here.
If you bought a house for under $999,999 and have LESS THAN 20% down, you can get an even better rate, as low as 3.14% today. Why? That’s because you the taxpayer guarantee the mortgages that CMHC issues, and therefore, the banks have zero risk.
 
For REFINANCES:
The banks are once again the top here. Some banks differentiate between 25- and 30-year by .10% in rate but overall, the rates are 3.44 to 3.59%.
For SWITCHES:

This is where things get interesting! When your mortgage comes due and it’s time to renew.

If you bought a house before October 2016, you not only can get the best rate on your mortgage renewal but you might also qualify without a stress-test!. Wow. Not through the bank, but through a mortgage lender. Did you know 57% of all mortgages renew this year in 2018? Crazy, eh?

AND FINALLY, VARIABLE-RATES:
Variable rates are also priced differently depending on down payment and purchase price.
20% down or more, rates are 2.7-2.8%.
Less-than 20% down and we’re down to 2.25%ish.
One of you asked me today “Hey! Do you do pre-approvals?”
Absolutely BUT I will say: In most cases, pre-approvals are priced higher than best rate so it does not always make sense to do one these days. The short answer is, it really depends on you and where you are in your buying cycle.
As always:
Any questions?
Comments?
Let me know! I’m here to help.
Thanks for reading,”
#1 Mortgage Edge Agent in Residential Volume, 2016 AND 2017