Record-Breaking 2.94% Five Year Fixed Mortgage Rate Hits the Market

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - July 26, 2012) - In June, 41.8% of Canadian mortgage seekers were leaning towards five year fixed rates, according to RatePulse, a new monthly digest offered by RateSupermarket.ca, Canada's independent rate comparison site. That number is likely to jump even further now that record lows were seen this week for the five year fixed rate, at 2.94%.

The record-breaking rate, offered in Ontario, appeared on Tuesday and is expected to return as the precedent has been set.

"As the gap between fixed and variable mortgages narrows, and with 2.94% setting a new low, fixed rate mortgages have never been more enticing," said Kelvin Mangaroo, President of RateSupermarket.ca. "However, what makes this mortgage product even more appealing is even with the rock-bottom rate, it is still a full featured product - meaning Canadians can pay their mortgages off even faster with these flexible prepayment options."

Borrowers are able to top-up their regular payments and make additional lump-sum payments to pay down their mortgage sooner; often the trade-off to lower rates is that the mortgage is "no frills," offering little or no flexibility on payments. Such restrictions can negate the benefits of the lower rate.

Mangaroo points to data found in RatePulse to illustrate the narrowing gap between products over the past year - as of this time last June, 5 year fixed rates sat at 3.47%, while 5 year variable rates were offering 2.04%.

RatePulse compiles consumer and market data on various personal finance products, as well as stats illustrating information being sought by average Canadians related to mortgages, savings accounts, banks accounts as well as life insurance.

RatePulse gives the average Canadian insight into up-to-date mortgage market indicators, for example, the historical trending of the 5 year fixed rate compared to the 5 year variable over time. Stats are compiled based on monthly product rates and common searches performed by visitors to the site. The range of data collected is from hundreds of thousands of searches across Canada.

RatePulse is published monthly, online at http://www.ratesupermarket.ca/rate_pulse/.

RateSupermarket.ca is the largest impartial rate comparison service for personal finance products in Canada. Founded in May of 2008, their easy to use comparison engine provides much needed transparency to the Canadian financial market and allows visitors to quickly find the best mortgage rates. Their new Mortgage Tool App for the iPhone also allows house hunters to compare mortgage rates using their Smartphone. Over 2 million Canadians have turned to RateSupermarket.ca to save money on their mortgage, insurance, credit cards and GICs.