If you have clients with variable mortgage rates, it may be time to help them reconsider their repayment options.
Over the last two weeks, banks across the country have been raising their three-year fixed mortgages. The moves has no doubt left buyers wondering if they should lock in now.
Today, National Bank joined the rate-raising bandwagon by increasing it’s three-year closed rate to 4.05%, mirroring other banks’ upped offerings.
RBC and TD made the move first last week, and both Desjardins and Laurentian bumped up their three-year rates to 4.05% earlier this week.
Read: RBC alters two residential mortgage offers
RBC and TD also set their five-year closed special rates at 3.69%.
So, despite the BoC’s decision to maintain low interest rates, consumer banks are heading in the opposite direction.
And as housing prices continue to cool across the country, it may not take long before the rest of Canada’s big banks jump on the rate-raising bandwagon.
Read: Housing market cooling: Report
But, Canadians were ahead of the curve; recent CIBC data suggests an increasing number of Canadians are looking to lock in at low rates, as part of a strategy to pay down their mortgages faster. They predicted a rise in rates in the next twelve months.
Read: Canadians predict rising mortgage rates and Rookie mistakes of homebuyers
CIBC and Scotiabank have yet to release changes to their rates, but BMO’s three-year fixed rate already stood at 4.05%.