Mortgage rates going up

Global concerns about Ireland's fragile finances and the USA's sluggish economy have caused TD Canada Trust and the Royal Bank of Canada to both raise their fixed-term mortgage rates by one-quarter of a percentage point, effective this past Wednesday.

For both banks, five-year mortgages, popular among Canadian homeowners, will rise by 0.25% to 5.44% total. Not long ago they were slashing mortgage rates in an effort to be competitive. No longer.

With signs the housing market in Canada is about to rebound (and that the housing bubble isn't going to burst immediately) they also upped rates on three-year and four-year mortgages, again by 0.25%. One-year and two-year rates will go up by 0.15%.

Rates for mortgages that have six, seven, and 10 year terms will be unchanged.