With the Canadian economy showing signs of a slowdown, money markets are pricing in the first interest rate cuts since March 2020 as soon as April, which would bring down mortgage costs.
Still, more home buyers took out fixed-rate mortgages in September compared with a year ago, eschewing variable rate mortgages where the interest rate varies based on current market rates.
Since then, the central bank has raised the key interest rate to a 22-year high of 5% in July.
The share of fixed rate loans among five-year and three-year mortgages rose to 68% in August compared with 32% a year ago.
In the first three weeks of November, 79% of mortgage seekers in Canada opted for a fixed mortgage, said Hanif Bayat, CEO of financial data firm Wowa Leads.
Persons:
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Locations:
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