With the COVID-19 restrictions moving into January and relief seeming to be several months away, mortgage rates have been moving to historic lows. If you’ve been contemplating a mortgage renewal, pre-approval, the time has never been better. Currently, Manitoba credit unions are seeing historically low prime rates as well as a 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year fixed.
We wanted to show just how substantial these rate drops are compared to past Canadian mortgage rates. Take a look!
1935
5% Prime Rate
The year 1935 was a tough one for many Canadians. Names The Great Depression for a reason, the economy was in shambles and lenders were looking to encourage borrowing and rates were as low as 5.5%. Going forward, prime rates remained mostly consistent and around the 5% mark until the 1970s
1974
11.5% Prime Rate, 12% 5-year Fixed
The 1973 oil crisis and following stock market crash once more threw the economy into a recession. By 1974, interest rates had climbed higher than ever seen in the last four decades and inflation remained high until 1980.
1981
21.75% Prime Rate, 20.75% 5-year Fixed, 20.25% 1-year Fixed
The recession of the early 1980s is considered the most severe since World War Two, when North America was just coming out of the Great Depression. Sharp oil price increases led to increased inflation worldwide, and mortgage rates hit their absolute peak in Canadian history with the 21.75% prime rate and fixed rates over 20%.
1990
14.75% Prime Rate, 14.25% 1-year Fixed, 14.25% 5-year Fixed
You guessed it… A recession-plagued start of another decade and interest rates increased. After normalizing around 10%-11% in the rest of the 80s, the 90s saw another bump in rates hitting 14.75%. Rates steadily declined after this, with small bumps along the way, all the way to 2009, where interest rates hit lows similar to what we are experiencing now.
2020
2.45% Prime Rate, 2.25 1-year Fixed, 2.14% 5-year Fixed
Having looked back through the years, we come to today. At Westoba, our current rates are more competitive than ever before. If you’re interested in taking advantage of these incredible rates, request an appointment with one of our Mortgage Specialists HERE.
