Market and Mortgage News - Week of Jan.31, 2011 - Edmonton & Calgary

First Foundation Best Rates to Open the Week:

Term Mortgage Rates

1 Year 2.70%
2 Year 3.10%
3 Year 3.19%
4 Year 3.69%
5 Year 3.69%
7 Year 4.75%
10 Year 5.15%

ARM / Variable 2.20%
Line of Credit 3.50%

Qualifying Rate 5.19%
Prime Rate 3.00%

Market News

The energy sector led the way to a strong advance on the Toronto stock market on Monday as massive political unrest in Egypt raised worries about a disruption in oil supplies and pushed crude prices higher.

The S&P /TSX composite index jumped 114.41 points to 13,551.99

The loonie closed down 0.04 of a cent to 99.85 cents US after going as high as 100.37 cents US in the wake of data from Statistics Canada showing that gross domestic product grew 0.4 per cent in November, better than the 0.3 per cent reading that economists had expected.

Mortgage News

Last week’s announcement regarding changes to Canada’s mortgage rules have resulted in above-normal mortgage volumes for many lenders. Borrowers who require a 35 year amortization or a refinance of up to 90% of the value of their home, have no later than Thursday, March 17 to arrange a signed lender approval under the current insured mortgage guidelines.

These elevated volumes will likely continue for the next two months so in order to ensure that your mortgage application process goes smoothly, speak to a licensed mortgage broker BEFORE house hunting.

Your mortgage broker can provide you with a list of required documents that you can gather and have prepared in advance of making an offer. Typically, your seller will allow you 7 to 10 days to arrange financing once your offer if accepted. This can be a tight deadline for lenders with higher than normal volumes so having your documents ready will give them as much time as possible to review and approve your application, keeping the mortgage process on time and low stress for you!