Calgarians up for mortgage renewal brace for looming BoC interest rate decision

While the hope of an impending interest rate cut from the Bank of Canada on Wednesday could ease the blow for Calgary mortgage borrowers, a higher rate awaits the vast majority of those with a fixed rate who are soon to renew their agreement.

More than two million Canadians will renew their mortgages over the next year-and-a-half. CTV News asked more than 50 mortgage brokers across Canada how to get the best mortgage deal. This is what we found.

While the hope of an impending interest rate cut from the Bank of Canada on Wednesday could ease the blow for Calgary mortgage borrowers, a higher rate awaits the vast majority of those with a fixed rate who are soon to renew their agreement.

Ryan Ballantyne locked into a two-year mortgage on his home in 2022 at 5.8 per cent, but now he faces yet another big decision ahead with his mortgage up for renewal again this summer.

“It’s just so daunting to look at the situation now because even when you’re looking at 4.5 per cent or five per cent prime interest rates, I remember when I first got into the market, we were paying two to three per cent,” he said.

“We were hoping to find ourselves in a better spot from an interest rate perspective, but they haven't really dropped as fast as we thought they would. So now the question is,’ Do we take a variable rate because it's expected to drop over the next couple of years? Or do we lock ourselves in again?’ At least that might help protect ourselves against any inflation.”

Ballantyne is in the same boat as the vast majority of mortgage borrowers nationwide who took advantage of lower interest rates during the COVID-19 pandemic and will see their payments increase regardless of the Bank of Canada's decision.

That doesn’t bode well, especially for Calgarians who have seen their monthly mortgage payment rise steeply over the last few years and surge above the national average.