TORONTO, July 26,
2024 /CNW/ - Mortgage rates in Canada are close to their highest point in the
past two decades, while home prices are significantly higher than
20 years ago. This combination of high prices and high rates
translates to significant financial difficulty for mortgage
holders, especially the ones who bought in the last decade. As of
July 26, 2024, the lowest available
rate without any unusual conditions is 4.39%. This rate is 45 basis
points (0.45%) lower than the lowest advertised rates of the Big
Six Banks in Canada, translating
to $2,250 in annual interest savings
on a $500,000 mortgage. Saving
$2,250 on interest payments is
crucial, especially after the significant increase in living costs
for Canadians over the past few years.
According to the latest report from Canada's seven largest lenders (Big Six Banks
and Desjardins), the rate of monthly mortgage renewals is expected
to increase steadily, rising from 1.3% of all mortgages to nearly
2% by mid-2025. This means around 19% of mortgages will be renewed
in the next 12 months, and all these mortgage holders will need to
renew at higher rates.
The question arises: How can you find the best rates in
Canada without spending hours? The
answer lies in rate comparison websites like WOWA.ca. In
Canada, there are a few major rate
comparison platforms where you can check rates from different
lenders: WOWA.ca, Ratehub.ca, Nerdwallet.com/ca/, and Money.ca.
It's important to understand the differences between these mortgage
rate platforms. Here, we compare their rates as of July 26, 2024, for Ontario for these platforms:
Platform
|
Best 3-Year Fixed
Insured*
|
Best 3-Year Fixed
Uninsurable**
|
Best 5-Year Fixed
Insured*
|
Best 5-Year Fixed
Uninsurable**
|
Showing
Non-affiliated Lenders***
|
WOWA.ca
|
4.59 %
|
4.94 %
|
4.39 %
|
4.84 %
|
Yes
|
Ratehub.ca
|
4.79 %
|
5.14 %
|
4.44 %
|
4.99 %
|
Yes
|
NerdWallet
|
4.69 %
|
5.14 %
|
4.54 %
|
4.99 %
|
No
|
Money.ca
|
4.69 %
|
5.14 %
|
4.54 %
|
4.99 %
|
No
|
*
|
Insured mortgage:
Borrowers have mortgage default insurance (e.g. down payments under
20%).
|
**
|
Uninsurable mortgages:
These mortgages can't be insured (e.g. homes above $1
Million)
|
***
|
Means displaying
mortgage rates of non-affiliated lenders (excluding the Big Six
Banks).
|
As you can see in the table, WOWA offers the best rates in all
popular scenarios.
How WOWA Aggregates the Lowest Mortgage Rates in Canada
Quantity of Partners: WOWA does not have its own
brokerage, nor does it work exclusively with a single or couple of
brokerages. Instead, it collaborates with several lenders and
brokerages to always offer the best rates. For example, as of
July 26, 2024, WOWA's partners—Butler
Mortgage, 6ix Mortgage Group, Citadel Mortgage, and Nesto—offer a
5-year fixed insured rate of either 4.39% or 4.44% which are the
lowest in Canada on the major
comparison websites. At the same time, the 5-year fixed
uninsurable/refinance rate of 4.84% is offered only on WOWA, while
the lowest rate on other major platforms is 4.99%.
Quality of Partners: WOWA's partners include experienced
brokerages, reputable fintech mortgage companies and established
lenders. By working with Nesto, the largest mortgage fintech
company in Canada, WOWA can offer
some of the best rates in all provinces, including Quebec. WOWA ensures it offers the best rates
in Canada by partnering with
experienced brokerages like Butler Mortgage, 6ix Mortgage Group,
and Citadel Mortgage, which are willing to buy down rates by
cutting their commissions by up to 80%. These brokerages can
achieve this by handling high mortgage lead volumes. Meanwhile,
WOWA also works directly with some of the Big Six Banks, such as
BMO, receiving special rates lower than those advertised on BMO's
own platform.
Is Getting a Mortgage Rate Online as Easy as Shopping on
Amazon?
In an era where we buy everything online, should we also shop
for mortgages online? There are several reasons to look for
mortgages online.
Speed: When users visit WOWA's mortgage rate pages, such
as the Canada mortgage rate page,
they only need to provide their name, email address, and phone
number to a single or a few lenders/brokerages. Mortgage
professionals typically contact them within a few minutes to start
their mortgage process.
Accuracy: WOWA collects mortgage rates from hundreds of
mortgage rate pages of different lenders and brokerages three times
daily. As Hanif Bayat, the CEO and founder of WOWA.ca, says, "The
most effective form of regulation is healthy competition. By having
multiple partners in each province competing with each other, no
one can offer a fake rate since competitors would inform WOWA about
any suspicious rate."
Product Features: Typically, the advertised mortgages on
WOWA are portable, have a regular breaking penalty, and offer
between 10% and 20% annual prepayment privilege.
Range of Solutions: WOWA tries to cover all different
mortgage products in the market. This includes solutions for bad
credit and self-employed buyers by alt-A, B and private lenders.
WOWA also tries to provide all the possible options for HELOCs and
reverse mortgages in Canada.
Clear Categorization: Mortgage rates depend on
various characteristics, such as whether the mortgage is insured,
insurable, or uninsurable, which are determined by factors like
owner occupancy, loan-to-value ratio, home value, and amortization
period. WOWA helps users understand which mortgage type they
qualify for and provides personalized and realistic rates based on
that information.
Looking ahead, WOWA will continue to build on this momentum and
help Canadians by transparently listing their financial options so
they can "Simply Know Your Options" and compare their options based
on cost and features.
About WOWA Leads Inc.
Founded in 2018 by Hanif Bayat, PhD in Toronto, Canada, WOWA Leads Inc. is a dynamic
content platform dedicated to empowering Canadians in their
financial journey. With over 1,000 guides, tools and calculators,
WOWA is known as "Canada's
Personal Finance Encyclopedia" and now with one million monthly
page views is proud to be at the forefront of helping Canadians
make more informed financial decisions by "Simply Know Your
Options."
SOURCE Wowa Leads Inc.