
Expert realtors on how to move up Canada's property ladder
Top real estate agents around Canada offer some advice on how to leverage your home in this red-hot market.
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Shopping for a mortgage in Nova Scotia? You’re at the right spot. LowestRates.ca helps you find and compare the best rates from the leading mortgage brokers and banks in the province. Our service is free to use and there’s no obligation on your part. Just select the type of mortgage you’re interested in and our comparison engine will pull together the lowest rates — just like that.
1.50%
1.39%
2.19%
LowestRates.ca allows you to submit a mortgage application for several different types of mortgage products. If you’re on the hunt for a typical mortgage contract, however, there are two main types you’ll be choosing between. These include conventional mortgages and high ratio mortgages. Conventional mortgages mean that the homebuyers have put down at least 20% of the purchase price of the home as a down payment. A high ratio mortgage means that the homebuyers have put down less than 20% of the purchase price of the home as a down payment. With a high ratio mortgage, homebuyers are required to purchase mortgage insurance, which often means that rates for these mortgages will be lower. However, it’s important to speak with your advisor about which type of mortgage is right for you.
Date | Average Conventional Rate | Average High Ratio Rate |
---|---|---|
04/20 | 2.85% | 2.55% |
05/20 | 2.64% | 2.32% |
06/20 | 2.50% | 2.22% |
07/20 | 2.45% | 2.11% |
08/20 | 2.25% | 1.92% |
09/20 | 2.16% | 1.84% |
10/20 | 2.05% | 1.86% |
11/20 | 1.82% | 1.59% |
12/20 | 1.82% | 1.63% |
01/21 | 1.80% | 1.54% |
02/21 | 1.64% | 1.43% |
Last Updated: March 1, 2021
Once you’ve determined whether you’re looking for a conventional or a high ratio mortgage, the next thing you’ll need to decide is whether you prefer a fixed or variable interest rate. But, what’s the difference? To give you an idea, we’ve pulled data from LowestRates.ca’s user database to see how variable rates stack up against fixed rates. Here’s what we found:
Month | Fixed | Variable |
---|---|---|
04/20 | 2.27% | 2.78% |
05/20 | 2.09% | 2.50% |
06/20 | 2.10% | 2.42% |
07/20 | 2.03% | 2.36% |
08/20 | 1.99% | 2.09% |
09/20 | 1.93% | 1.98% |
10/20 | 1.84% | 1.94% |
11/20 | 1.65% | 1.73% |
12/20 | 1.62% | 1.75% |
01/21 | 1.58% | 1.71% |
02/21 | 1.45% | 1.56% |
Last Updated: March 1, 2021
Looking for mortgage info? Check out our Home Buyers Guide.
On LowestRates.ca, you can secure either a fixed or variable rate mortgage loan. But, what do users prefer? Generally, variable rate loans have come with lower rates than fixed rate loans, which makes them more popular among LowestRates.ca users. However, due to the economic circumstances between 2019 and 2020, the difference between the two has gotten smaller and smaller. While variable rates are still lower, they’re lower by a much smaller margin.This means that regardless of whether you go with a fixed or variable rate on LowestRates.ca, you’re still getting a great deal.
Even though it’s the second smallest province in Canada by area, Nova Scotia is home to more than 900,000 people. This relatively large population makes Nova Scotia the second most densely populated province in the country, with 17 residents per square kilometer, according to Statistics Canada. One of Canada's three Maritime Provinces, Nova Scotia’s vehicle license plate description is 'Canada's Ocean Playground,' and for good reason — the province has more than 7,400 kilometres of coastline! Residents and visitors can enjoy the varied nature of the province, from bucolic inland farms to the stunning scenery of Cape Breton and bustling urban life in Halifax. The province boasts a thriving economy driven mainly by fishing, forestry and tourism.
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Get your free quotes nowTop real estate agents around Canada offer some advice on how to leverage your home in this red-hot market.
First-time buyers can be more prone to make mistakes because they don’t have as much experience.