Renewing Your Mortgage in 2026? What Etobicoke Homeowners Should Do Before the Letter Arrives

Market Insight Dave Dubbin July 27, 2026

If your mortgage renews this year or next, here is the short version: start early, do not sign the first offer your lender mails you, and know that switching banks at renewal is easier than it used to be. A lot of Etobicoke homeowners locked in five year fixed rates around two percent in 2021. Those terms are ending now, and today's rates start with a four. The letter stings, but there is more room to move than most people think.

Deciding between renewing and selling? Find out what your home is actually worth first. It changes the conversation.

Where rates actually sit

The Bank of Canada held its policy rate at 2.25 percent on July 15, its sixth straight hold, and most bank prime rates are sitting around 4.45 percent. Three more rate decisions are left this year, in September, October, and December. Could a cut come? Maybe. But planning your renewal around a rescue cut is hope, not a strategy. Budget for the rates on offer today and treat anything better as a bonus.

The math, honestly

Take a $500,000 balance with 20 years left on the amortization. At 2.25 percent the payment is roughly $2,590 a month. At 4.25 percent it is about $3,085. That is close to $500 a month more for the same house, the same street, the same everything. Your numbers will differ, and that is the point. Run them early, not the week the term ends.

The timeline that matters

Your lender is required to send a renewal statement at least 21 days before your term ends, but most reach out months ahead, and you can start shopping around 120 days out. Rate holds typically last up to 120 days too, so locking a competing quote early costs you nothing. One more thing worth repeating: the rate printed on the renewal letter is rarely the lender's best. It is the rate they hope you will sign without calling anyone.

Switching lenders got easier

Since late 2024, a straight switch at renewal, meaning the same balance and the same amortization, no longer requires you to requalify under the stress test. That applies to insured and uninsured mortgages alike. If you want to borrow more or stretch the amortization, that becomes a refinance and the stress test still applies. We are realtors, not mortgage brokers, so take the fine print to your broker or bank. But do not let the fear of requalifying keep you from shopping.

Weighing your options this year? These three will help:

Renew, refinance, or sell?

Renewing makes sense when the new payment fits and the home still fits your life. Refinancing can fund a renovation or consolidate debt, at the cost of the stress test and a longer conversation with your lender. And for some owners, the renewal letter is the nudge that starts a different plan. If you have owned in Etobicoke for more than a few years, you are likely sitting on real equity. Per TRREB, the market tightened through early summer, with June sales up 9.4 percent over last year while new listings shrank. Downsizing to a condo, moving up while prices are still soft, or selling a rental that stopped making sense all get easier when you know your number.

If your renewal is within the next year

Dig out your renewal date this week. Ask your lender for their early renewal terms. Get at least one competing quote, even if you expect to stay put. And if selling is on the table at all, get a valuation before you sign anything, because a three or five year term is a long time to be locked into the wrong plan.