Victor Tran (pictured top) of RATESDOTCA, told Canadian Mortgage Professional that a sizeable recent increase in fixed rates had “put a rush” on a lot of borrowers to look into their renewal options, with many considering renewing early and first-time homebuyers anxious to lock in current rates for preapproval.

“I have a good amount of clients that are up for renewal this year, and I typically would reach out to these clients four months prior to the renewal date just to start shopping around for a mortgage rate,” he said.

“A lot of people won’t respond – four months out is still pretty early, and that’s expected, most people will start to action things 60 days on average prior to that. But suddenly this past week, a lot of those clients of mine finally reached out to say, ‘Sorry I haven’t responded to you, it’s been a crazy week – but yeah, let’s see what’s available. Let’s lock something in.’”

That’s partly a result of recent headlines about rates rising, Tran said – although those who have been jolted into action in recent days are likely too late to avail of the best possible deal on fixed rates.

“They kind of missed out on the high 4% range for fixed rates and now they’re looking at mid-five-percents for renewal rates,” he said. “But it’s definitely impacting the market a little bit, and consumer sentiment. People are hearing about it, for sure.”