We are six weeks into spring, however yesterday’s scare of snow kind of brought fears of January.
Fortunately, we’ve been spared from snow this week. Typically in the spring market lenders make way for increased mortgage rate pricing but so far we’ve been safe from that too. But there are some increases out there, and it truly depends on which side of the equation you are on, buying or selling.
Since the end of last August we’ve seen rate specials creep down below the 2.99% level, and they’ve held strong, with couple of bumps along the way. The strange thing is, this is the time of year when rates are supposed to rise, but lenders have actually gone flat and mostly quiet.
At the last few meetings with Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney they’ve hinted that rates will still be flat until December 2014.
But alas hints are just insinuations of the guessing game that he unfortunately gets to plod along playing and I’m doubtful that we’ll see any changes prior to his leave to the Bank of England.
He’s done a good job for us though, as he’s had to play possum with a roulette wheel – on one hand he has the Canadian economy on a rickety upward climb with jobs being created in some parts of the country and inflation creeping into it, and on the other hand he has to battle the markets and their super deflated bond yields – providing the consumer with super low interest rates for all of your shopping needs, whether it be a new home, car or furniture.
That being said, we in Alberta and Saskatchewan are running at a different pace than the rest of the country. Our existing home prices are increasing and new home builders like Larkaun Homes are feeling the pressure as their tradesman and suppliers are increasing their costs as the ball is in their proverbial court.
Speaking about a mutual client of ours, “If we didn’t get their home plans in on time for quoting last month, I bet that this month that exact same house would cost another 2% today,” strained Cory Kaun, co-owner of Larkaun Homes.
The most recent report detailed how home prices in pockets of the country grew 3-6% year over year in a time when they were expecting flatter growth than what’s become of it. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been preaching about taking advantage of these low rates for four years now as houses are on sale because of low mortgage interest rates but also preparing my clients for the inevitable rate increases that will come…some day!
So my show home and open house hopping friends – if you are out there armed with a pre-approval, good news has bequeathed you once again with a shiny new five-year fixed interest rate of 2.89%! Happy hunting!
Jean-Guy Turcotte is an Accredited Mortgage Professional with Dominion Lending Centres-Regional Mortgage Group.
