Mortgages at Near Lowest Rates Right Now
Interest rates for a range of financial products – including mortgages, home equity loans and lines of credit – may rise over the balance of the year, according to the Financial Post. Despite a dip in inflation, the FP reports that “analysts still expect the Bank of Canada to raise interest rates this year.”
While the mandate of the Bank of Canada is to keep inflation within a narrow range that is conducive to economic growth, according to some industry analysts Canada’s central bank may also be seeking to moderate swelling consumer debt “that has feasted on rock-bottom interest rates throughout the financial crisis.”
HSBC economist, Stewart Hall suggests that in this phase of our current recovery, the Bank of Canada’s policy may be “more about targeting consumer behaviour than it is about targeting prices.”
Canada’s inflation rate sank to 1.4% in May, down from 1.8% in April. Meanwhile, the Bank of Canada hiked its near-record low lending rate from 0.50% to 0.75% on June 1st. The Bank of Canada will once again address its key overnight lending rate on July 20th. Douglas Porter, BMO Capital Markets’ widely respected deputy chief economist, reportedly “expects another rate hike in July, followed by a temporary pause justified by tame inflation expectations.”
Consumers looking to take maximum advantage of today’s low interest rates – be it, for a mortgage, line of credit or home equity loan – may want to lock in interest rates before the Bank of Canada’s July 20th‘s interest rate announcement.
