Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said rate cuts in the near future "don't look like the most likely scenario to us," and he didn't rule out a possible rate hike to get inflation fully down to two per cent. It remains unclear if and when the Bank of Canada will lower interest rates. "People are anticipating rates being lower in, say, two or three years, which is why they want the renewal to happen in two or three years as opposed to the traditional five-year fixed rate." "The short term fixed rates are as popular now as they've ever been," Laird said. The rates on these mortgages are a little more expensive than a five-year fixed rate, but they offer more flexibility than five-year rates and are currently cheaper than variable rates." Laird said many consumers are taking a middle-ground approach: opting for a two- or three-year fixed rate mortgage. It's just that we just don't know what the near term really means when there's so many different factors that we have to consider," Porter said. ![]() "I'm having conversations with my clients, where they don't want to take a five-year because they expect to see five-year rates come down in the near term. So that's a really good indication that rates will come down," she told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview on Thursday.Ĭanadians who are entering the housing market or about to renew their mortgage are currently faced with a dilemma: should they take a more expensive variable rate with the anticipation that interest rates will fall, or lock in a cheaper fixed rate? "For the first time in a long time, fixed rates are actually lower than being in a variable rate mortgage, which is crazy. Jackie Porter, a certified financial planner and talent partner at Carte Wealth Management, notes that we also find ourselves in the rare situation where variable rates are more expensive than fixed rates. SHOULD YOU GET A FIXED-RATE OR VARIABLE RATE MORTGAGE? "So, a combination of lower economic costs to fund these mortgages plus spring promotions means rates have come down." That's when you'll see promotions and banks and lenders are willing to take thinner margins in order to win volume," he told CTVNews.ca on Thursday over the phone. "That's when the lenders and banks start competing with each other more aggressively. On top of that, he says banks and lenders have started to offer more spring promotions as the weather gets warmer and the housing market starts to heats up. James Laird, co-CEO of Ratehub.ca and president of CanWise Financial, says bond yields are "a key input" when it comes to determining mortgage rates. ![]() ![]() Part of this has to do with the fact that bond yields in Canada have fallen, a sign that the market is anticipating a rate cut on the horizon. Three-year fixed rates have also come down to 4.34 per cent, from 4.79 per cent at the start of March. The lowest five-year variable rate is available for 5.55 per cent, down from 6.10 per cent.
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