Sometimes you just don’t know how good or bad you have it.
Take the mortgage business, for example. When it comes to mortgage pricing, Canada is a unique animal compared to many other countries, including the United States.
Being married to a U.S. mortgage broker has made that all too clear for this author. And Tuesday, August 2, was a case in point.
Frenetic rate updates
While Canadian brokers watch the 5-year yield for hints on fixed-rate direction, in the U.S. the benchmark is the 10-year Treasury.
When yields are moving meaningfully in Canada, a lender might send a rate update once this week, or perhaps twice if the moves are large enough.
When yields are moving in the U.S., even if it’s a tiny five-basis-point blip, lenders adjust rates on the double.
U.S. brokers can sometimes get three to four rate updates (from one lender)…
