BMO brings back the 2.99% mortgage

On the Globe and Mail website is a story about the Bank of Montreal (BMO) lowering their 5 year fixed rate to 2.99%. From the article:

Bank of Montreal has once again lowered its five-year fixed mortgage rate to 2.99 per cent, from 3.29 per cent, a move that could cause more downward pressure on rates at a time when they’re already defying expectations.

BMO’s rate is not the lowest in the market, but it is the lowest that’s currently available from the country’s biggest banks. BMO sparked a mortgage price war among the banks when it first introduced its 2.99 per cent five-year-fixed rate in early 2012. That rate also earned the bank a lecture from then-Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, who had been taking steps to curb growth in the housing market amid fears that a bubble could be forming. BMO has repeatedly brought the rate back since then, most recently this March.

Why BMO’s rate change isn’t news

I suppose I can understand to some extent the Globe and Mail deeming this change to be newsworthy, and they acknowledge that its not the best rate available, but really…I have had that rate or better available for MONTHS. So in the grand scheme of things, this is not really news. Additionally, my lenders don’t have many of the drawbacks of working with a chartered bank. See my mortgage broker vs. bank article for more details on this.

I think this is another small example to drive home that the chartered banks are not your friend like many people tend to believe. If you want a better deal, work with a mortgage broker.