I’m a mortgage broker, and both personally and professionally I prefer variable. It’s simply a better deal in the long term. However there’s one fundamental challenge I face when setting clients up with a variable mortgage.. Vancouverites simply can’t afford them.
Currently the variable is Prime-55bps (2.45%) and the qualifying rate is 4.79%. With a 5-year fixed, buyers don’t need to worry about the qualifying rate, and can get in at ~2.99%.
When somebody is trying to buy as much home as they can afford, that makes an absolutely massive difference in their decision process.
