Canadian Mortgage Market Report

If you’re buying

The rate matters, but so do the rules that cap what you can borrow. You’ll qualify at the greater of your contract rate plus 2% or 5.25%. With less than 20% down, the mortgage must be insured, and insured mortgages are available on homes priced under $1.5 million. First-time buyers, and anyone buying a newly built home, can amortize an insured mortgage over up to 30 years. First-time buyers can also combine a First Home Savings Account (up to $8,000 a year, $40,000 lifetime) with the RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan (up to $60,000) toward a down payment. A pre-approval with a rate hold protects you if rates rise while you shop.

If you’re renewing

Compare your lender’s offer with the market before you sign. Many lenders will hold a rate for a switch about 120 days before maturity, and under current federal rules a straight switch at renewal doesn’t require you to requalify under the stress test. See our mortgage renewal guide for the full process.

If you have a variable rate

Your rate moves with prime, which moves with the Bank of Canada’s policy rate. Check the next scheduled decision, and if you have a fixed-payment variable mortgage, know how close you are to your trigger rate.

How this report is built

Each month the report reads the latest Bank of Canada policy rate, chartered-bank prime and 5-year Government of Canada bond yield from the Bank’s public data, then applies typical lender spreads to show where representative variable and fixed rates sit. It describes the market; it doesn’t forecast it, and it isn’t a quote for your file.