There's a sale on fixed mortgage rates and the deals get better if you negotiate

Robert McLister: Multiple fixed rates are hitting two-year lows

Lenders are having a sale on fixed mortgages — and everyone’s invited. 

This week marked fresh two-year lows for multiple nationally-advertised rates. Among them:

  • The three-year fixed (insured) fell 20 basis points to 4.24 per cent
  • The three-year fixed (uninsured) decreased 10 basis points to 4.64 per cent
  • The five-year fixed (uninsured) dropped 10 basis points to 4.54 per cent
Financial Post
THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

  • Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.
  • Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.
  • Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.
  • National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.
  • Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.
SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

  • Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.
  • Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.
  • Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.
  • National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.
  • Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.
REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

  • Access articles from across Canada with one account.
  • Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.
  • Enjoy additional articles per month.
  • Get email updates from your favourite authors.

Sign In or Create an Account

or
View more offers
If you are a Home delivery print subscriber, unlimited online access is included in your subscription. Activate your Online Access Now

Well-qualified borrowers in some provinces can land even sweeter deals through a regional player (see the rate table below), as well as by playing big banks against each other. In some cases, banks are selling for 20 to 40 basis points below the rates they’re advertising.

Those three-year rates above are still your best fixed-mortgage values, assuming: (A) you don’t want to gamble on a floating rate, and (B) you need a mortgage for at least three years. 

Three-year mortgages are especially enticing if you get a great deal from a lender offering cash rebates. In that case, the projected effective borrowing cost of a shorter 36-month term can easily outshine all other fixed-rate options.

Meanwhile, for folks who can stomach the chance that inflation rebounds and takes rates higher, variables remain the best bet on paper. That’s assuming interest rates go where bond traders think they’ll go. It would only take a string of unexpectedly inflationary economic reports to wildly change what bond traders “think.”

Robert McLister is a mortgage strategist, interest rate analyst and editor of MortgageLogic.news. You can follow him on X at @RobMcLister.  

The rates displayed below are updated by the end of each day and are sourced from the Canadian Mortgage Rate Survey produced by MortgageLogic.news. Postmedia and Imaginative. Online Inc., parent of MortgageLogic.news, are compensated by certain mortgage providers when you click on their links in the charts.