Fixed Rate, or Flexible- and “Can I even afford it anyway?” are questions the vast majority of those with mortgages are going to be asking over the coming thirty-six months.
That’s Danny Belisle, the Royal Bank’s Mobile Mortgage Specialist for Arnprior and Renfrew.
It’s no secret that the Bank of Canada’s efforts to reign in inflation have put a crimp on the housing market.
As Bank Governor Tiff Macklem raises Canada’s prime interest rate, those who borrowed when rates were lower are seeing their situations turned upside down.
Belisle says we will see interest rates come down- even the Central Bank says so.
The Mortgage Specialist says you shouldn’t hold your breath by waiting until your moment of mortgage renewal.
Belisle says the mortgage interest rates offered during the COVID crisis were an anomaly; they were way lower than normal practise.
He says that, to give your situation some wiggle room, most applicants holding 3 percent mortgages were actually qualified as to whether they could afford to pay five (percent rates).
By Rick Stow