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your mid-week mortgage market minute
with Jim Cook, Broker
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in the mortgage marketplace ...
When looking at drivers of mortgage rates, we can never forget about the influence of the US economy.  There is a very strong correlation between US and Canadian inflation.  US growth is both strong and accelerating, with multi-decade low unemployment.  A growing question is how much can US inflation continue to decline in an expanding economy.  There are several drivers, reinforced by political spending, especially in an election year.

This is simply evidence of last week's theme - that our path to lower inflation and resulting lower mortgage rates will happen with fits and starts - with some bumps in the trend line.  That being said, the economic gurus continue to forecast a trend towards Prime Rate reductions by summer and continuing into 2026.  And the BoC continues to state "we need to give these higher rates time to do their work"

Everything ultimately depends on inflation numbers.  We are, for now, on trend.  The chart below shows Reuter's latest economist CPI poll.  (source: Refinitiv Eikon)
rate snapshot ...
Rates are largely stable at the moment - with nominal change in insured 5 yr term rates since last week.  For properties priced below $1 million, with less than 20% down payment, example rates would be:
  • 1 yr fixed  7.50% or $7.32 per $1k in mortgage
  • 3 yr fixed  5.14% or $5.90 per $1k in mortgage
  • 5 yr fixed  5.09% or $5.87 per $1k in mortgage
For clarity, a $500,000 at 5.09% on a 25 yr amortization would have payments of 500 x 5.87 = $2,935 monthly.

Note also that rates can change daily, certainly differ between lenders and definitely differ based on down payment, mortgage features and hidden costs.
in Jim's practice ...
I wanted to update headshots for business/social media purposes.  I had the choice between finding a local photographer, scheduling a convenient time, picking wardrobe option(s), attending the shoot and then waiting for results – or – paying $40US and testing 50 x AI generated headshots, providing 6-8 selfies and waiting 45-90 minutes for the results.

Out of pure curiosity (and potential for time efficiency), I opted to try Aragon.ai   Some of the shots are clear fails – teeth gaps or glasses messed up – and some almost work.   Above are 3 ‘photos’ from the 100 they provided (they bonused me with an extra 50).  The one on the right is pretty close.  None of these clothes are in my wardrobe, btw.

They claim they can do much better.  I provided a handful of selfies all taken that same day, in one set of clothes, in different locations/lighting around my house.  They suggested I gather a new selection of selfies, in different clothes, differing positions, over the next month and try again at their cost.  


I included the middle pic in homage to our Century 21 Realtors lol

Have a successful week!
We were told about Jim’s services from a friend and he didn’t disappoint us. He was very patient with all of our questions and provided us with a mortgage solution that fit our needs. We would definitely recommend using Jim’s expertise and knowledge in this market and we will continue to use his services in the future. (DK, Jan 2024)
chatwithjim.ca

the best place to refer clients to get questions answered quickly!  No Phone Tag.  They book directly into my calendar to schedule a call!
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Jim Cook is a nationally-recognized broker with some quarter billion in mortgages funded. 
www.mymortgageplace.ca          519-832-7882            chatwithjim.ca
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