These four factors will determine if mortgage rates will keep drifting lower
Robert McLister: Three-year terms still the sweet spot for most new borrowers
Mortgage rates are tiptoeing into the new year on a quiet note. Only one leading rate has changed in the last two weeks, which is not uncommon in the slow holiday season. That rate is the uninsured four-year fixed, which dipped five basis points since our last report.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
These four factors will determine if mortgage rates will keep drifting lower Back to video
tap here to see other videos from our team.
Bond markets, the merry puppeteers of fixed mortgage pricing, remain in wait-and-see mode. Traders await four revelations this month:
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 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.
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.
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
- What trade and fiscal policies Trump orders post-inauguration;
- What the Bank of Canada and the United States Federal Reserve do at their Jan. 29 meetings;
- What next week’s employment reports reveal; and
- How inflation evolves later this month.
A combination of the above will help determine if Canadian mortgage rates continue their downward drift.
Meanwhile, for most new borrowers with stable provable income and solid finances, snagging a three-year fixed in the low fours is the sweet spot. Three-year terms provide a balanced risk-reward trade-off, are priced lower than other terms, and entail less prepayment penalty risk than longer fixed mortgages.
Robert McLister is a mortgage strategist, interest rate analyst and editor of MortgageLogic.news. You can follow him on X at @RobMcLister.
Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the business news you need to know — add financialpost.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters financialpost.com.
Mortgage rates
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.
