Shopping for mortgage rates? Keep an eye on the U.S. election – National [Video]

Despite an oversized interest rate cut from the Bank of Canada last week, experts who spoke to Global News say Canadians shouldn’t be expecting much more discounting on fixed mortgage rates.

In fact, movements south of the border — a solid United States economy and the looming presidential election — could have more of an impact on the rates Canadian homeowners and would-be buyers can secure in the market.

The Bank of Canada picked up the pace in its rate-easing cycle last week with a half-percentage point cut, lowering the policy rate to 3.75 per cent.

But cuts of that magnitude haven’t been reflected in the bond market as of late, which is an important proxy for fixed-rate mortgages. Yields are instead higher on the five-year Government of Canada (GoC) bond, which lenders use to price the rates they offer on the popular five-year fixed mortgage.

The five-year GoC bond yield hit 2.65 per …