What is the difference between floating rate and fixed rate mortgages?

Variable or floating rate mortgages provide that the interest rate will change on a periodic basis during the term of the loan based on a predetermined formula. This formula is typically based on the prime-lending rate set by the Bank of Canada.

Fixed rate mortgages provide that the interest rate will not change throughout the term of the mortgage. The rate is set at the beginning of the term.

Article: Fixed or Variable rate mortgage

Balance Mortgages Team

5.0

Based on 28 reviews

Chelsey Z

19:28 28 Feb 20

Fast, efficient, and got us a great rate on our mortgage. 100% confidence in Ed; highly recommend.

A Google User

16:46 12 Nov 19

Cynthia and Edward both amazing ,very personalized and caring persons From the moment I met them, they were extremely... welcoming, knowledgeable and made me feel comfortable. Always available to answer any question I had and guided me through the entire process and made me feel confident. Cynthia and Edward get me the best rate and support me through the on boarding process with the new lender. For their great work I would give more than Ten star rating if that option. I can’t thank them enough. Yes I 100% recommended to anyone looking to get mortgage go with them.read more

Yodit Damte

22:52 06 Nov 19

Kat Halushka

19:08 17 Sep 19

Cynthia was the kindest and most thorough mortgage specialist I have ever worked with. She took the time not only to... explain the terminology to me in the way I could understand it but also create some tools for me to prepare for my renewal. She took the time to hear me out on every level and answered all of my concerns. I couldn't wish for a better person to sit down with. I highly recommend Cynthia! Sit down with her and you will know why.read more

Darren Coleman

18:18 18 Jul 19

Edward Cherie helped my wife and I to buy our first home. I really appreciate the dedication and amazing service from... Edward. I highly recommend Edward to anyone who is looking to buy a house and needs a broker. He is the best. Thanks Edward for everythingread more

Cristina Hipkiss

21:22 15 Jul 19

Working with Ed and Cynthia has been the most wonderful experience. They are friendly, incredibly knowledgeable and... have the best recommendations. I highly recommend Balance Mortgages to everyone and will most definitely use them again. Ten stars.read more

Nathaniel Schick

21:57 10 Jul 19

We recently bought our first house through Balance Mortgages. Ed & Cynthia were excellent to deal with and helped us... get through the mortgage process with patience and understanding of circumstances. Because I'm self-employed, there were challenges in getting my income proven. Ed worked with me and my accountant to get everything needed in a timely manner. He helped the mortgage companies understand our situation and we credit both him & Cynthia with getting us an awesome mortgage rate that fit our exact needs. I highly recommend Balance Mortgages and will tell anyone who will listen about them.read more

Jessica Jefferys

18:49 10 Jul 19

Cynthia and Ed are the absolute best in the industry! My fiancé and I were buying a fixer-upper and wanted to roll our... renovation costs into the mortgage. We had done our research ahead of time but and Cynthia and Ed were able to find an even better option than we thought possible! We were under tight timelines to get the mortgage approval and they went above and beyond for us to make it happen. They are incredibly knowledgeable, professional and were a pleasure to work with. I definitely recommend them!read more

Jennifer Saunders

04:52 10 Jul 19

Edward and Cynthia were an absolute pleasure to work with. They went the extra mile to make my first house purchase as... smooth and easy as possible. I cannot recommend their mortgage services enough!read more

Rhys Lawrence Hechanova

23:06 11 May 19

It was nice working with Cynthia and Edward... they helped us a lot and do recommend them forward to other clients...... definitely will go back for there services..read more

Jaclyn Teichgraber

22:57 10 May 19

We were recommended by a friend and we don't regret a thing. Cynthia and Edward Cherie made the experience of buying my... first home painless, extremely smooth and easy. They were incredibly patient, communicated often by phone, and my favorite by text and email, answering promptly and I was never scared or shy to ask silly newbie questions. They walked us through the insane amounts of paper work, making a daunting task easier to digest, and alleviating any fears we may of had. They helped us get us a thorough and in-depth house inspection that I was very happy with. And made negotiation on our house painless, quick and smooth flying!!! Overall spending time house hunting with them was a fun experience, they are full of stories and insight and you aren't uncomfortable through the journey. I highly recommend them as a new buyer or experienced.read more

Julie Gagnon

03:08 03 May 19

Cynthia and Ed were amazing. From the moment I met them, they were extremely welcoming, knowledgeable and made me feel... comfortable. They answered all my questions and made me feel confident in the decisions we made throughout the process. I’ve heard horror stories from people when buying their first home but honestly, thanks to Cynthia and Ed for their hard work, this journey has been pleasant and enjoyable. I can’t thank them enough.read more

Jackie Stewart

17:34 02 May 19

Cynthia and Ed take the time to meet with clients and thoroughly explain the Mortgage pre-approval/application process... to their Clients! They will guide you throughout the entire process! They are a fabulous team that I would refer to anyone looking for a mortgage!read more

shane macdonald

01:29 20 Apr 19

Took our first step today towards purchasing our first home! We were nervous and had a lack of confidence. We received... the warmest of welcomes, and we were given total transparency with each step of the process. We were amazed with the wisdom, and caring culture of Balance Mortgages. They work well as a team, and gave us a tremendous amount of confidence!! We look forward to our relationship and our biggest investment ever with Balance Mortgages.read more

Joshua Ianes

18:02 17 Oct 18

I can't say enough good things about Ed and Cynthia at Balance Mortgages. This was our first home and they really... helped us understand our mortgage, the steps we needed to take and the support to get us into our first home. They are both personal, while also providing the key details so that you enter your mortgage and home ownership with all that you need. I highly recommend them for your mortgage needs!!read more

Heather Hayashi

04:43 17 Aug 18

Ed and Cynthia were incredibly helpful! From the moment we sat down in their office to the final email, they stayed... attentive to our process and kept the steps simple and well explained. Their attention to detail was precise and they were patient with our many questions. I would highly recommend the Cherie team to anyone!!read more

stacy dee

21:09 08 May 18

I can't thank enough to you guys for helping us to go through with our mortgage application. You have done so great to... help us get our new home! To Cynthia and Edward.. you deserve more than 5 stars!read more

Jack Born

17:34 18 Mar 18

Dear Cynthia, Thank you so much for all your help with renewing my mortgage!!! For helping me with the title change... and being so generous with time and information about minimum income needed to qualify for new financing. I’m pretty sure that without you working so hard I would not have secured this awesome 5 year fixed rate. I do NOT take for granted the extra effort you took to carefully analyze my self-employment tax and bank statements during the past 6 months. I know it wasn't easy, but you got it done! While working with you, I noticed that you are extremely knowledgeable about the mortgage industry and that you did an excellent job for me. If I were to rate my overall satisfaction, then 10 out of 10 wouldn’t be enough to cover how much you went above and beyond my expectations. I was so pleased to work with such an intelligent professional and won’t hesitate to recommend your name every time I hear someone telling me about plans for a new home purchase, mortgage renewal or refinancing. I will tell them about your eagerness to do all you could to help despite my challenging mortgage situation. With each low bi-weekly payment, I’ll be thinking about how grateful I was to have had you assisting me with this renewal. I’m already looking forward to having you involved once again 5 years from now. Wishing you all the best, Jack Bornread more

See All Reviews

Term	Discount Fixed	Variable	Posted Fixed
1 Year		-	3.29%
2 Year		-	3.54%
3 Year	3.09%		4.05%
4 Year		-	4.64%
5 Year	2.14%	2.55%	5.04%
7 Year	3.49%		5.55%
10 Year	3.80%	-	5.95%

Term	Fixed Rate	Variable Rate	Special Rate
6 Month	-	-	-
1 Year	-	-	-
2 Year	-	-	-
3 Year	-	-	-
4 Year	-	-	-
5 Year	-	-	-

Term	Discount Fixed	Variable	Posted Fixed
1 Year		-	3.29%
2 Year		-	3.54%
3 Year	3.09%		4.05%
4 Year		-	4.64%
5 Year	2.14%	2.55%	5.04%
7 Year	3.49%		5.55%
10 Year	3.80%	-	5.95%

Term	Discount Fixed	Variable	Posted Fixed
1 Year		-	3.29%
2 Year		-	3.54%
3 Year	3.09%		4.05%
4 Year		-	4.64%
5 Year	2.14%	2.55%	5.04%
7 Year	3.49%		5.55%
10 Year	3.80%	-	5.95%

What is the difference between floating rate and fixed rate mortgages?

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Alberta Mortgage Rates as of April 8, 2020

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