Many home buyers in Mississauga are fixated by the Bank of Canada (BoC) rate increases, and their impact on the Prime Rate. They think this translates directly to mortgage interest rates in general.

In fact, the BoC increases directly affect mortgages with variable rates.

Fixed rate mortgages beat to their own drum – and factor in many other variables, including the government of Canada bond yields, and general market sentiments.

Rob McLister reported earlier this week “Whether you’re a mortgage shopper, realtor or mortgage seller, these are un-fun times. In just five weeks, the lowest nationally-available uninsured 2-year fixed rate is up 80 bps. The lowest 5-year fixed is 70 bps higher.”

In plain language, this means you are not going to find a fixed rate mortgage under 5% these days, for any term – 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 years.

The silver lining for some – buyers who asked us for a formal pre-approval with a rate hold are laughing for the next two or three months though, as we are holding as low as 4.49% for five year terms.