Next to critiquing the decorating taste of your home’s previous owner, playing the “adjustable mortgage game” may rank as one of the most popular (and least pleasant) pastimes of Canadian homebuyers.

Here’s how it works.

As you’re exploring your mortgage options, you review the long and steady slide of mortgage rates in Canada over the last decade and make the decision to go with an adjustable mortgage when you buy, at renewal or when refinancing. You’re now a player. Then you watch for clues about mortgage rate movement, trying to guess the perfect moment to lock in your mortgage. The objective of the game is to try to guess the bottom… and you won’t know it’s the bottom until it’s too late. In today’s low rate environment, we should acknowledge that most of the players are already winners; but it can still be a stress-inducing game.

One way to remove all of the guesswork is to consider a capped-rate adjustable mortgage, although there are only a few options available in the marketplace.

There is a unique adjustable mortgage that is not based on the Canadian Prime Rate (the usual benchmark) – but on what is known as the Banker’s Acceptance rate: a benchmark that is used for professional money managers. In effect, the BA rate, as its known, is the rate lenders charge one another.

Not surprisingly, it’s typically much lower than prime. In fact, the effective rate of this adjustable mortgage has been consistently lower than competitive variable or adjustable rate products based on Prime. A capped version is now available.

An adjustable rate mortgage with a cap offers unlimited downside rate movement, but also provides a guarantee that the rate will never rise more than a certain percentage higher than the starting base rate – no matter what happens to the lending rates.

The rate cap takes the guesswork out of the adjustable mortgage game. If rates continue to drop, your Mortgage rate also drops accordingly. But if rates begin to rise, you know that your own mortgage rate has a fixed ceiling. Imagine, no more worrying about when to lock in your mortgage, and no more second-guessing your decisions when rates go back down again. Of course, this kind of flexibility comes at a small premium over a regular adjustable-rate mortgage.

In the past several years, more and more Canadians have passed on the security of traditional fixed-rate mortgages for the savings potential of an adjustable rate. And in an environment of dropping rates, the adjustable rate choice has proven its value to homebuyers. With today’s rates among the lowest in memory, many homeowners continue to worry about whether or not they should lock in or not. After all, we don’t want to lose the flexibility of having our rate adjustable downward… but we’d also like to have it fixed upward.

If we had a crystal ball, we could make perfect decisions about our mortgage options, and we’d know how to secure the best rate. But a mortgage that passes on declining rates and has a rate cap on the upside can be the next best thing to seeing into the future. And the result is an adjustable mortgage game that the homebuyer is heavily favoured to win.

These are heavy days for Canadian homeowners. If you’ve been in your home even a few years, you’ve probably already enjoyed a modest climb in the value of your home. Even if you don’t intend to sell, it’s good to know that your real estate investment is doing well. But we’re also enjoying an environment in which mortgage rates have reached historic lows.

That combination — strong valuations and low mortgage rates — has an unprecedented number of Canadians looking for ways to capitalize on the great opportunities available to them.

Whether it’s to buy their first home, trade up, or take equity back out of their homes, Canadians are jumping at the opportunity to borrow at today’s rock-bottom rates.

While many homebuyers are reconsidering the value of fixed-rate mortgages to lock in those low rates, you should keep in mind that adjustable-rate mortgages – the darling of the dropping rate trend – can still offer real value to homeowners. It’s a matter of finding the right combination of mortgage features and options.

As banks have been joined by other lending institutions, we have seen our menu of ontario mortgage options grow accordingly – with some innovative new mortgage types now available to help Canadians take advantage of today’s unusual opportunities.

One of the most innovative mortgages we’ve seen in a very long time is a new adjustable-rate mortgage with some very compelling features. First, it’s based on an institutional rate benchmark known as Bankers Acceptance. Most of us are familiar with the rate benchmark known as Canadian Prime – and we are accustomed to assessing mortgage rates based on Prime. The BA, on the other hand, is the rate at which banks will lend money to one another – and it’s typically a lower rate (sometimes much lower) than the prime rate offered to a bank’s best customers. The new BA-based mortgage – compared to the best prime-based mortgage available – could have saved a mortgage client a bundle over the last several years, primarily because the prime rate tends to be “stickier” in an environment where rates are falling. Often, the more fluid, market-based BA rates deliver the rate change more quickly. The BA rate is no trade secret, by the way; pick up a copy of your favourite financial paper and look for the published money rates to find the Bankers Acceptance Rate.

But the attractive rate structure is not the only perk. The same BA-based mortgage – so welldesigned to help clients wring the last quarter point from their mortgage rate – now also comes with a rate cap which guarantees that your rate will never climb higher than 2.15% above the starting base rate – no matter what happens to rates during your mortgage term. There’s no worry about locking in too high because the rate is always adjustable down.

Only the ceiling is fixed. It’s a homebuyers’ dream:

A mortgage with limited upside and unlimited downside. If you’re thinking about buying a home this year, or you haven’t had your mortgage reviewed in the last several months, take the opportunity to get an expert assessment of your many options from a mortgage professional. It could be the best investment you’ll make this year!

At this time, the Bank of Canada has set its prime rate at 0.25 %, and it will keep the rate on until the following year. With this current rate, the bank prime rate is set at 2.25%, the lowest ever.

Banks are still offering low Canada mortgages even when the time period of below prime rate is over. There are still good deals on variable and short-term rates. To get the best Canada mortgage rates, you need to consider three steps.

You need to shop around. According to a recent survey, not many Canadians are exploring other options. They stay with their existing lenders for reasons of loyalty, good relationships, and friendship.

Rates vary from one lending institution to another. Even when the difference in mortgage rates is small, the savings can be great. The difference of one tenth a percent can be converted to huge savings in the long run.

Banks are not the only ones that offer mortgages. When you shop around, you will find that there are several financial institutions that offer mortgages. To help you understand the difference, and to help you compare Canada mortgage rates, it is best to consult a mortgage broker. He can help you find the deal that is right for you.

A mortgage broker is a specialist whose task is to negotiate with many mortgage lenders. They are particularly popular among the first-time mortgage applicants simply because mortgages are their sole specialization.

Also during your shopping, you will have to choose between fixed rate and variable rate. The variable rate fluctuates along with the prime rate. Hence, when the prime rate goes up or down, so will your interest rate and monthly payment. The fixed rate mortgage is constant; it does not change, regardless of what changes occur in the prime rate.

After shopping around, you need to diversify your options. You can choose a combination of variable rate and fixed rate for your Canada mortgage rates. It is known as hybrid mortgage. Now, not all lenders are willing to offer hybrid mortgages. So better look around, or let your mortgage broker do the shopping for you.

The terms are very important in Canada mortgages, regardless of the rate. Unlike the amortization, the mortgage term last between 15 to 25 years. There are longer terms available, however, the rates are prohibitive as banks unwilling to predict the longer terms. At the end of the term, you will negotiate again for another deal with your lender according to the rates offered at that time.

Because the prime rate is very low, banks right now are offering better deals for shorter terms, and higher rates for longer terms. There are mortgage calculators that are available online for you to calculate the rates; nevertheless, it is best to let your Canada Mortgage rates be estimated by your broker.

Your credit score is very crucial in determining your rate. If you know your credit score is low then start cleaning it up to build a better score. An impressive credit score can guarantee you the best Canada mortgage rate.

The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has reported in their latest Great Toronto Housing Association Market Outlook that posted mortgage rates eased by about 50 basis points in the first four months of this year, although rates in late April were 30 to 35 basis points higher than they were 12 months prior. Mortgage rates are expected to trend marginally lower throughout 2008, but will be within 25-50 basis points of their current levels.

For 2009, posted mortgage rates will begin to drift up slightly as the year progresses. For 2008 and 2009, the one-year posted mortgage rate is forecast to be in the 6.50- 7.50 per cent range, while three and five-year posted mortgage rates are forecast to be in the 6.75-7.50 per cent range.

Interestingly, the CMHC also believes that after first time buyers saw a huge uplift in 2007, as almost 60% of home buyers were upgrading from rental accomdation, these buyers will drop throughout 2008 and in 2009. As first time buyers continue to find it tough to get on the property ladder, all the way through 2009, we will also see the continued trend in the Canadian mortgage market towards new products such as the 40 year amortization period and in some cases the 100% mortgage, coupled with less-expensive housing types such as the numerous new build condos in the downtown core.

 City Year Total Housing MLS sales MLS average Mortgage rates Mortgage rates
Starts price (1 year) (5 year)

Toronto 2007 33,293 95,164 $377,029 7.35% 7.54%

2008 (F) 35,000 84,000 $394,000 6.95% 7.01%

2009(F) 33,600 77,000 $404,000 6.83% 6.97%

Source = CMHC
MLS = Multiple Listings Service

The mortgage rate forecasts are particularly interesting as current Canadian mortgage rates are at the following levels:

Fixed closed 1 year = 4.69%

Fixed closed 5 year = 4.99% 

With all the recent woeful economic news coming out of the US, despite the fact that Canada’s economy is now more independent than it has been in the past, you would expect mortgage rates to decrease or remain flat in the next year or so.

I guess, only time will tell.