VARIABLE RATES UP BY 0.50%
The Bank of Canada (BOC) changed it’s overnight rate to 4.25% this morning, an increase of 0.50% bringing prime rate with most lenders to 6.45%.
Today’s announcement came with a notable statement:
“Looking ahead, Governing Council will be considering whether the policy interest rate needs to rise further to bring supply and demand back into balance and return inflation to target.”
This is a much different different tone compared to previous interest rate announcements indicating they will consider whether the policy interest rate needs to rise (previous announcements indicated they will continue to rise). So this may well be the last rate hike.
Read the full Bank of Canada announcement here: https://www.bankofcanada.ca/2022/12/fad-press-release-2022-12-07/
FIXED RATES DOWN
Fixed mortgage rates are falling. Most fixed rates are still sitting over 5% however they are trending down with the bond market seeing significant changes allowing lenders to begin to reduce their fixed rates. For those looking at fixed rates consider locking into a shorter versus longer term (depending on your risk tolerance) as fixed rates could have peaked and there could be an opportunity to refinance into a lower rate in the next 12 to 24 months.
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