mortgage rates, Robert McLister

Trump's tariffs keep fixed mortgage rates down, but that's small consolation

Robert McLister: CIBC first Big Six bank to take advertised rates below 4% since April 2022

So, how did you enjoy the first month of the Trump presidency? Theoretically, if all someone cared about was mortgage rates, they’d be pretty happy right now.

Trump’s tariff antics have pounded bond yields, in turn pushing down fixed mortgage rates given the relationship between the two.

The good news is, lower rates are lessening payment shocks on mortgage renewals. The bad news is the shock of not having a job as a result of a trade war. In that case, saving interest is like getting a discount on a coffin when you’re already dead.

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In any event, leading fixed rates are down again this week. On Thursday, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce became the first Big Six bank to take advertised rates below four per cent since April 2022 (check the rate table below for details).

Interestingly, CIBC has suddenly developed an appetite for rate supremacy. The nation’s fifth largest bank has slashed rates up to 50 basis points and now leads its peers in all uninsured fixed terms from one to five years — at least on advertised pricing.

Of course, banks treat advertised rates like gallery art prices — nobody pays sticker unless they haven’t discovered the Internet.

Clued-in consumers also realize that smaller and regional lenders often have better deals. Take online brokers Butler Mortgage and Citadel Mortgages, who are like indie bands of finance. Their 3.84 per cent insured five-year fixed rates lead the nation.

Meanwhile, the bond market implies there’s a two in three shot that trade uncertainty will compel the Bank of Canada to cut again next Wednesday. That’ll no doubt trigger more variable rate small talk at dinner parties.

And if floating is your cup of tea, Nesto’s insured variable is 14 basis points below big bank advertised rates at prime minus 1.05 per cent (i.e., 4.15 per cent).

Got an uninsured mortgage instead? They’re the housing market’s version of being upcharged for guacamole. Expect to pay at least 25 to 35 basis points more.

Robert McLister is a mortgage strategist, interest rate analyst and editor of MortgageLogic.news. You can follow him on X at @RobMcLister.

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.

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