Find the best 5-year fixed mortgage rates in Canada

August 2025: Mortgage market update

Canada’s housing market faced a sharp slowdown in early 2025, as tariff concerns and economic uncertainty kept many buyers on the sidelines. However, affordability is improving, as home prices decline and mortgage rates continue to fall. The Bank of Canada has now implemented seven consecutive rate cuts and three rate holds, stabilizing its benchmark rate at 2.75%. 

If you’re looking for a mortgage rate in Canada right now, these are some important economic factors to know.

• Real estate update: Canada’s housing market regained momentum in July 2025. Data from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) shows 45,973 homes were sold in July, a 6.6% increase from last year and 3.8% higher than June. Sales have now risen for four consecutive months, with overall transactions up 11.2% since March. Much of this recovery reflects improving buyer confidence, as economic conditions stabilize following earlier tariff disruptions and employment remains steady. Price growth, however, has not kept pace with sales. The national average home price was $672,784 in July, only 0.6% higher than a year ago and up 1.3% from June. CREA’s MLS Home Price Index, which adjusts for market extremes, remained flat month-over-month and was still down 3.4% annually. On the supply side, listings have held steady. New listings totalled 88,616 in July, virtually unchanged from June, which nudged the national sales-to-new-listings ratio up to 52%. That’s still within the “balanced” market range but reflects tighter competition than earlier in the year. At month’s end, a total of 202,500 homes were on the market, up 10.1% annually. Looking ahead, CREA Chair Valérie Paquin noted, this year has already broken seasonal patterns, with activity strengthening through summer instead of slowing down, and the coming months may see Canada’s housing market heat up faster than expected.

Read more: Canadian home sales tick 6.6% higher in July

• CPI update: According to Statistics Canada, the inflation rate dropped to 1.7% in July, marking a softer reading for consumers. However, the decline was heavily influenced by cheaper gasoline, which fell 16.1% year over year after a 13.4% drop in June. StatCan also attributed the drop to the federal government’s removal of the carbon tax in April. Without that policy shift, inflation would have been closer to 2.5%, highlighting how one factor is masking broader price pressures. While fuel costs eased, Canadians saw the opposite effect at the grocery store. Food inflation climbed 3.4% compared to July 2024. Renters felt further pressure as average rents increased by 5.1% annually, up from 4.7% in June. This lifted the shelter index by 3% overall, the first increase in several months. For homeowners, though, lower interest rates translated into some relief: mortgage interest costs fell to 4.8% from 5.6%, continuing a steady retreat from last year’s peak. The softer inflation reading adds momentum to speculation that the Bank of Canada may cut interest rates. Yet, core inflation measures — which exclude volatile categories like energy — remain stubbornly high around 3%. This signals that most goods and services continue to rise in price, complicating the case for immediate rate relief. The final decision, however, will hinge on the next CPI release due just a day before the Bank’s policy announcement.

Read more: Canadian CPI falls to 1.7% in July

July 30, 2025, Bank of Canada announcement update

On July 30, 2025, the Bank of Canada opted to leave its overnight rate unchanged at 2.75%, marking the third consecutive hold after a series of seven rate cuts that began in June 2024. 

• The decision, which was widely expected, comes in response to persistent inflation pressures and lingering uncertainty around global trade. Core inflation continues to hover above the Bank’s 2% target, and economic resilience has so far reduced the urgency for further rate relief.
• With the overnight rate holding steady, the prime rate remains at 4.95%, leaving variable-rate mortgage holders, HELOC borrowers, and those with other prime-linked lending products unaffected for now. 
• Fixed mortgage rates continue to trend upward, driven by elevated bond yields. The Government of Canada’s five-year bond yield has remained above 3% throughout July. This has pushed the best five-year fixed insured mortgage rate in Canada to 3.89%, with lenders warning of more increases if bond market volatility persists.
• Savers will also see no change in returns on high-interest savings accounts and guaranteed investment certificates (GICs). GICs, in particular, remain a strong choice for those seeking low-risk, stable returns amid a volatile market environment.
• Although the Bank held rates steady this month, future decisions will depend on how global trade tensions and inflationary pressures evolve. Policymakers stated they are prepared to act if economic conditions soften further or if the inflationary impact of tariffs proves more contained than expected.

Read more: Bank of Canada leaves target interest rate unchanged at 2.75% in July 2025 announcement

Housing market forecast for Canada for 2025

CREA has made a modest downward adjustment to its housing market outlook for 2025, with national home sales now forecast to total 469,503 transactions, a 3% drop from 2024. The deeper-than-expected slowdowns in British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario – driven by U.S. tariff concerns – have weighed heavily on national numbers. However, most other provinces are still on track to see sales growth in 2025. The average home price is projected to fall 1.7% year over year to $677,368, a steeper decline than CREA’s April forecast. Looking ahead, 2026 is shaping up to be a year of recovery. CREA forecasts a 6.3% increase in national home sales, reaching 499,081 transactions, essentially back in line with April expectations. However, it would still be the fourth consecutive year that sales fall short of the 500,000 mark. The average home price is expected to rise 3% to $697,929, continuing a six-year-long trend of prices hovering near the $700,000 level. Although confidence is slowly returning to the housing market thanks to lower interest rates, CREA emphasizes that forecasts remain subject to elevated uncertainty.

Canadian mortgage reform update

On September 16, 2024, the federal government announced sweeping changes to mortgage qualification rules for first-time home buyers, as well as those purchasing newly-constructed homes.

As of December 15, 2024:

• 30-year amortizations will be available for all first-time home buyers, regardless of whether they have an insured mortgage. These extended amortizations are also available for any purchase of new construction.
  
  
• The maximum purchase price for an insured mortgage (where less than 20% down is paid) will be increased to $1.5 million, from the current $1 million.
  

These are some of the most impactful mortgage reforms announced since 2012, and are anticipated to increase first-time home buyers’ affordability and access to the housing market. 

Learn more about these new mortgage rule changes on the Ratehub.ca blog

5-year fixed mortgage rates: Quick facts

• Mortgage rate is fixed over a 5-year term
• 5-year mortgage rates are driven by 5-year government bond yields
  

What makes a 5-year fixed-rate mortgage right for me?

Generally, a fixed-rate mortgage is a good choice if you are risk-averse and don’t want to deal with the stress that could come with a variable rate if the prime rate goes up over time and your mortgage payment increases. Before committing to a 5-year mortgage, you need to think about your personal situation today and going forward. If you are likely to move, change jobs, or otherwise embark on any life changes that may affect your ability or desire to remain in the home you are purchasing, you need to take this into account when selecting the mortgage that’s right for you.

Full feature mortgages vs. restricted mortgages

While it’s always desirable to obtain the best mortgage rate, in today’s historically high rate environment, the quest to find the lowest rate seems more important than ever. It also means that one needs to be vigilant about choosing the right mortgage for your needs. The lowest rate that you see advertised may not be what you want, because it could well be for a restricted mortgage. Although the low rates of a restricted mortgage may catch your eye, it’s important to understand the drawbacks. A full feature mortgage will have a higher interest rate, but it will also have a number of features that make it very desirable, including:

• Pre-payment options: Take a look at what pre-payment options your lender is willing to offer you. The more flexible your lender is with pre-payment options, the faster you can potentially pay off your loan, which could save you thousands of dollars in interest fees. The main pre-payment options are monthly pre-payment and lump sum pre-payment. In the case of the former, you’re allowed to increase your monthly payment up to a certain percentage determined by your lender, maxing out at 100%. If you had a lender who was flexible enough to allow you to double your monthly payments, for example, you could in theory pay your mortgage off in half the time if you were able to do so. The latter option, lump sum pre-payment, allows you to pay off up to say, 25% of your mortgage loan, again, depending on your lender.
• Porting your mortgage: If you need to sell your home before the end of your mortgage term, many lenders will allow you to port your mortgage. Porting a mortgage means to take your current mortgage with its existing rates and terms and transfer it to another property, and allows you to avoid breaking your mortgage. You’ll want to talk to your lender about how portable your mortgage is, particularly if you think you may need to move before your term is up. Not all mortgages are portable, and many that are portable have conditions attached that you should be aware of.
• Lump sum pre-payment privileges: You are allowed to make multiple lump sum pre-payments to bring down your mortgage balance in a given calendar year. Most lenders will cap the amount of pre-payments you can make, e.g. you cannot pay more than 20% of your principal in a single year.
• Payment flexibility: If you choose to increase the size of your regular mortgage payments, you are able to do so without incurring any penalties or fees.

These are just some of the most common features you’ll find in a full feature mortgage that make them so convenient for homebuyers. To learn more about the mortgage that’s right for you, it’s always a good idea to speak with a mortgage broker. They can give you personalized, expert advice at no cost to you.

What are some of the pros and cons of a 5-year fixed mortgage?

There are pros and cons to choosing a 5-year fixed mortgage rate, and we’ll walk you through each below. Some of the pros of a 5-year fixed mortgage are: 

• Risk protection: For buyers who are risk-averse; a fixed rate mortgage enables you to “set it and forget it” - your rate, and therefore mortgage payment, is locked in and will not fluctuate with changes in bond yields. This allows you to budget with greater accuracy and offers you stability for the duration of your term. Moreover, in recent years, Canadians enjoyed access to some of the best fixed rates available in decades, although fixed rates started to climb again in October of 2021. Since then, high inflation, global banking instability, an incredibly tight job market and other factors have all pushed bond yields up, and with them, fixed mortgage rates. Today’s fixed rates are now higher than they have been since back in 2009.
• Competitive rates: The 5-year term is historically the most popular option, and the one that lenders often encourage you to opt for. The length of this term is a good “middle of the road” choice for home buyers. Because it’s such a competitive, popular rate term, lenders often get the most aggressive when pricing these terms.

On the flip side, there are some cons to consider as well. 

• Higher rates: In order to guarantee your fixed rate, your lender will charge you a premium. According to York University Professor Moshe Milevsky’s landmark 2001 study, historically, over 90% of Canadians who have maintained a variable mortgage rate throughout their entire mortgage term have paid less in interest than those who have stuck to a fixed rate.
• Breakage penalties: While the 5-year term can offer you peace of mind, in the event that something such as a move, loss of a job, illness or divorce forces you to break your mortgage, you could be on the hook for a hefty break penalty. With a fixed mortgage rate, your penalty will be the greater of the interest rate differential (IRD) or three months’ interest. Oftentimes, the IRD penalty can be large, and thus a fixed rate mortgage can be expensive to break. If you have a variable rate mortgage, on the other hand, the penalty will always be three months’ interest, and it can therefore be less costly to break your mortgage. For a more detailed explanation of IRD and how it is calculated, you can refer to our Mortgage Refinance Calculator page. You can also use our Mortgage Penalty Calculator to estimate how much you might have to pay in the event that you have to break your mortgage. 
  

Historical 5-year fixed mortgage rates

Looking over historical mortgage rates is the best way to understand which mortgage terms attract lower rates. They also make it easier to understand whether rates are currently higher or lower than they have been in the past.

Here are the lowest (high-ratio, insured) 5-year fixed rates of the year in Canada for the last several years, compared to several other types of mortgage rates.

Source: Ratehub Historical Rate Chart

The popularity of 5-year fixed mortgage rates

A 5-year mortgage term is the most popular duration. It sits right in the middle of available mortgage term lengths, between one and 10 years, and, thus, its popularity reflects a risk-neutral average. It also tends to be heavily promoted by major lenders. A further breakdown of mortgage terms shows that about 80% of mortgages have terms of five years or less.

Fixed rates are by far the most common - in 2023, from January to December, almost 95% of mortgage rate inquiries made to Ratehub.ca were for fixed rates. Moreover, according to the 2024 CMHC Mortgage Consumer Survey, 69% of all mortgages contracted in 2024 were for fixed-rate mortgages. The table below, sourced from the same survey, shows the popularity of fixed-rate mortgages in 2024 among the four main categories of people who contracted mortgages. 

What drives changes in 5-year fixed mortgage rates?

By and large, 5-year fixed mortgage rates follow the pattern of 5-year Canada Bond Yields, plus a spread. Bond yields are driven by economic factors such as unemployment, export and inflation.

When Canada Bond Yields rise, sourcing capital to fund mortgages becomes more costly for mortgage lenders and their profit is reduced unless they raise mortgage rates. The reverse is true when market conditions are good.

In terms of the spread between the mortgage rates and the bond yields, mortgage lenders set this based on their desired market share, competition, marketing strategy and general credit market conditions.

References and Notes

1. Trends in the Canadian Mortgage Market: Before and During COVID-19, Statistics Canada, 2021
2. Annual State of the Residential Housing Market in Canada, Mortgage Professionals Canada, 2021
3. Housing Market Report: 2022 Year-End Consumer Survey and Outlook, Mortgage Professionals Canada, 2023

For more information, check out these helpful pages 

• Best Mortgage Rates in Canada
• 5-Year Variable Mortgage Rates
• Variable or Fixed Mortgage Rates
• Amortization
• Mortgage Term vs. Amortization
• Is a 5-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage Term Right For You?
• Porting and Assuming Your Mortgage