Is Now a Good Time to Buy?

Team Gill • September 1, 2016

If you’re getting tired of all the media headlines claiming impending housing market and economic doom and gloom, you’re not alone. It seems every time you browse the news another US economist is predicting terrible things for Canada. Articles like this one , claiming an ‘extreme bubble’ is just around the corner… note, not just a bubble… but an extreme bubble. 

The truth is, mortgage rates have never been lower and while low interest rates are somewhat blamed for increased house prices, low interest rates are good for borrowers who are looking to get into the market. So despite what the media would have us believe, now (historically speaking) is actually a pretty good time to buy a property.

Understanding that you can’t control the future, and of course past performance doesn’t indicate future direction, if you isolate the actual cost of borrowing money, you might be surprised at how cheap money is right now. Obviously buying a property is a personal decision, the time has to be right for you, and your finances have to be in order, but if the sensational media headlines are causing you to second guess yourself or the market, let’s have a look at the cost of borrowing today compared to previous years.

Fixed Interest Rates

Fixed interest rates are at an all time low. Seriously, it has never been cheaper to borrow fixed money in Canada. Here is a handy chart that provides a visual to that effect, showcasing the historical posted 5 year mortgage rates from 1973 to today. 

Here are a couple points to note: 

  • In July of 1981, fixed rates were at 21.75%. 
  • 21.75% is a higher rate of interest than a lot of credit cards. Yikes!
  • In July of 2016, rates were at 4.74%.
  • 4.74% is a posted rate, a lot of broker channel lenders have discounted rates in the low 2% range.

Prime Rate

So, fixed rates are a little too permanent for you? No problems, the prime rate (the rate that sets the baseline for a variable rate mortgage) can be found hovering below half of the Canadian historical average. So here is another handy chart that provides a visual going back to 1935 up until today. 

A couple points to note:

  • The 80s were not only bad for music and fashion, but a bad time to borrow money as well.
  • Although prime is 2.7%, lenders offer a variable component discount as well tied to the prime.
  • Discounts in today’s lending landscape are around half a percentage point.
  • The 40s, 50s, and 60s, were pretty steady, who knows, we might just be in for some more of that! 

Let’s Talk

So regardless if you prefer the fixed or variable, as you can see, it’s never been cheaper to borrow money. Period. Please don’t let the media scare you into thinking the market is about to implode, their job is to sell advertising not bring a balanced perspective to your newsfeed. Affordability is a personal thing and shouldn’t be dictated by a market you can’t control. 

If you would like to figure out what you can afford, and go over your financial situation to prepare for getting a mortgage, we’d love to help. Please contact us anytime , we would love to work with you. 

 

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Mick & Sheila Gill
CANADIAN MORTGAGE EXPERTS
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Finance Your Home Renovations

By Team Gill • June 17, 2025
If you’re looking to do some home renovations but don’t have all the cash up front to pay for materials and contractors, here are a few ways to use mortgage financing to bring everything together. Existing Home Owners - Mortgage Refinance Probably the most straightforward solution, if you’re an existing homeowner, would be to access home equity through a mortgage refinance. Depending on the terms of your existing mortgage, a mid-term mortgage refinance might make good financial sense; there’s even a chance of lowering your overall cost of borrowing while adding the cost of the renovations to your mortgage. As your financial situation is unique, it never hurts to have the conversation, run the numbers, and look at your options. Let’s talk! If you're not in a huge rush, it might be worth waiting until your existing term is up for renewal. This is a great time to refinance as you won’t incur a penalty to break your existing mortgage. Now, regardless of when you refinance, mid-term or at renewal, you’re able to access up to 80% of the appraised value of your home, assuming you qualify for the increased mortgage amount. Home Equity Line of Credit Instead of talking with a bank about an unsecured line of credit, if you have significant home equity, a home equity line of credit (HELOC) could be a better option for you. An unsecured line of credit usually comes with a pretty high rate. In contrast, a HELOC uses your home as collateral, allowing the lender to give you considerably more favourable terms. There are several different ways to use a HELOC, so if you’d like to talk more about what this could look like for you, connect anytime! Buying a Property - Purchase Plus Improvements If you’re looking to purchase a property that could use some work, some lenders will allow you to add extra money to your mortgage to cover the cost of renovations. This is called a purchase plus improvements. The key thing to keep in mind is that the renovations must increase the value of the property. There is a process to follow and a lot of details to go over, but we can do this together. So if you’d like to discuss using your mortgage to cover the cost of renovating your home, please connect anytime!

Fixed-Rate or Variable-Rate Mortgage?

By Team Gill • June 3, 2025
If you're looking to buy a new property, refinance, or renew an existing mortgage, chances are, you're considering either a fixed or variable rate mortgage. Figuring out which one is the best is entirely up to you! So here's some information to help you along the way. Firstly, let's talk about the fixed-rate mortgage as this is most common and most heavily endorsed by the banks. With a fixed-rate mortgage, your interest rate is "fixed" for a certain term, anywhere from 6 months to 10 years, with the typical term being five years. If market rates fluctuate anytime after you sign on the dotted line, your mortgage rate won't change. You're a rock; your rate is set in stone. Typically a fixed-rate mortgage has a higher rate than a variable. Alternatively, a variable rate is not set in stone; instead, it fluctuates with the market. The variable rate is a component (either plus or minus) to the prime rate. So if the prime rate (set by the government and banks) is 2.45% and the current variable rate is Prime minus .45%, your effective rate would be 2%. If three months after you sign your mortgage documents, the prime rate goes up by .25%, your rate would then move to 2.25%. Typically, variable rates come with a five-year term, although some lenders allow you to go with a shorter term. At first glance, the fixed-rate mortgage seems to be the safe bet, while the variable-rate mortgage appears to be the wild card. However, this might not be the case. Here's the problem, what this doesn't account for is the fact that a fixed-rate mortgage and a variable-rate mortgage have two very different ways of calculating the penalty should you need to break your mortgage. If you decide to break your variable rate mortgage, regardless of how much you have left on your term, you will end up owing three months interest, which works out to roughly two to two and a half payments. Easy to calculate and not that bad. With a fixed-rate mortgage, you will pay the greater of either three months interest or what is called an interest rate differential (IRD) penalty. As every lender calculates their IRD penalty differently, and that calculation is based on market fluctuations, the contract rate at the time you signed your mortgage, the discount they provided you at that time, and the remaining time left on your term, there is no way to guess what that penalty will be. However, with that said, if you end up paying an IRD, it won't be pleasant. If you've ever heard horror stories of banks charging outrageous penalties to break a mortgage, this is an interest rate differential. It's not uncommon to see penalties of 10x the amount for a fixed-rate mortgage compared to a variable-rate mortgage or up to 4.5% of the outstanding mortgage balance. So here's a simple comparison. A fixed-rate mortgage has a higher initial payment than a variable-rate mortgage but remains stable throughout your term. The penalty for breaking a fixed-rate mortgage is unpredictable and can be upwards of 4.5% of the outstanding mortgage balance. A variable-rate mortgage has a lower initial payment than a fixed-rate mortgage but fluctuates with prime throughout your term. The penalty for breaking a variable-rate mortgage is predictable at 3 months interest which equals roughly two and a half payments. The goal of any mortgage should be to pay the least amount of money back to the lender. This is called lowering your overall cost of borrowing. While a fixed-rate mortgage provides you with a more stable payment, the variable rate does a better job of accommodating when "life happens." If you’ve got questions, connect anytime. It would be a pleasure to work through the options together.