Edmonton Mortgage Blog

Bank of Canada Rate Increase

October 24, 2018 | Posted by: Natalie Wellings

By now you have likely heard that the Bank of Canada has increased the prime rate. This is the 5^th increase since last summer. The prime rate has increased from 3.70% to 3.95%. When the prime rate increases I find that many consumers are left a little confused about how this affects them. The prime rate ONLY affects loans that have a variable rate. If your mortgage or vehicle loan has a fixed interest rate, this rate increase will have NO affect on you.

If you have a variable rate mortgage; a line of credit, or a variable rate loan then you will experience a payment increase.

You can currently obtain a 5-year insured variable mortgage for prime -1.00%. The rate has gone up from 2.70% to 2.95% as a result of the Bank of Canada announcement.  This means a payment increase of $38.09/month on a $300,000 mortgage or $63.48/month on a $500,000 mortgage.

In historical terms, today’s rate is still very low. Here is something to give you some perspective!

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