Several Canadian banks have increased their fixed-rate mortgage rates amid rising yields on the bond market and a strengthening economy, changes economists said could have repercussions for the housing market.
As of Friday, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) said they had raised rates between 10- and 15-basis-points. The banks tend to move in lockstep when it comes to raising rates.
RBC’s posted five-year fixed mortgage rate moved to 5.14% on Thursday, up from 4.99%. The bank’s special offer rate for a five-year fixed mortgage with a 25-year amortization moved to 3.54% from 3.39%.
RBC said the changes reflect the activity of competitors, costs for funds on the wholesale markets, as well as other costs and market considerations.
TD raised its five-year fixed rate to 5.14%, the first time it has been above 5% cent since February 2014.
CIBC raised fixed mortgage rates by between 10 and 15 basis points, effective Friday “in response to market conditions.” Its five-year fixed rate rose by 10 basis points to 4.99%, while the one and two-year fixed rates moved 15 basis points to 3.29% and 3.24%, respectively.
Bank of Nova Scotia said it is reviewing its rates and will likely soon make changes. Bank of Montreal did not immediately respond, while National Bank of Canada said it had not yet determined its plans.
If enough banks raise their rates by the same amount it will raise the benchmark rate for stress tests, said Gregory Klump, chief economist of the Canadian Real Estate Association.
“That would definitely have a marginal impact on how much mortgage people can qualify.”
The changes appear to most immediately affect those whose mortgages are uninsured because they had a down payment of 20% or higher.
The stress test for homebuyers who don’t need mortgage insurance requires them to prove they can make payments at a qualifying rate of the greater of two percentage points higher than the contractual mortgage rate or the five-year benchmark rate published by the Bank of Canada.
Those with insured mortgages must qualify at the Bank of Canada benchmark five-year mortgage rate, which was posted at 4.99% and was last updated Wednesday.
Klump said the test and higher mortgage rates would have a dampening effect on markets with more expensive homes.
“The impact at margin would be greater in higher priced and active cities like Toronto and Vancouver than it would say in Moncton,” he said in an interview.
Yields on the bond market, where the big banks raise money, have been on the rise since late last year as the economic outlook has improved.
Many economists are predicting that the Bank of Canada may raise its key interest rate target next week to 1.25% from 1%, a move that would likely prompt the big banks to raise their prime rates.
Increases in the prime rates push up the cost of variable-rate mortgages and other loans such as home equity lines of credit that are tied to the benchmark rate.