# Mortgage decisions behind the headline rate

Prepared by Pragmatic Mortgage Lending · October 19, 2026

Pragmatic Mortgage Lending is a British Columbia mortgage brokerage publishing Canadian mortgage education, public rate comparisons and calculators. Brokerage service and application intake are currently limited to BC. Licensing: https://pragmatic.mortgage/licenses

## Current rate data anyone can examine

The rate snapshot at https://pragmatic.mortgage/rates#rate-snapshot compares advertised five-year fixed offers available in BC by insurance category and mortgage purpose. It includes lender coverage and the median of each lender’s lowest APR. CSV: https://pragmatic.mortgage/api/public/rates/snapshot?province=BC&termYears=5&rateType=FIXED&format=csv

This is our current advertised catalogue, not a survey of funded loans or the entire Canadian market. Categories have different eligibility conditions and can overlap. A low rate is not a promise of borrower qualification. Each offer retains its own evidence date and expiry; the snapshot assembly time does not reverify a lender’s rate.

Methodology and public source records: https://pragmatic.mortgage/rates/methodology#rate-snapshot

## Two reproducible educational examples

1. Renewal: a $400,000 balance, 20 years remaining and a five-year fixed term. Staying at an illustrative 4.90% produces about $89,344 in five-year interest. Switching at 4.50% produces about $81,842. After $1,200 of switching costs paid in cash, the interest saving is about $6,302. Monthly payments are approximately $2,607 and $2,522. Compare the remaining balance and flexibility as well: https://pragmatic.mortgage/services/renewal#worked-example

2. Refinance: a $450,000 balance at an illustrative 5.50%, compared over three years with a new $460,000 mortgage at 4.50%, including $10,000 of financed penalties and fees. Both have 20-year remaining amortizations. The lower-rate replacement costs about $1,667 less on an interest-plus-fees basis over those three years. It still leaves a larger balance. Different fees or a shorter time in the mortgage can reverse the result: https://pragmatic.mortgage/services/refinance#worked-example

These are invented educational cases, not advertised rates, forecasts, client results or savings promises. Calculations use monthly principal-and-interest payments and Canadian semi-annual compounding. Rates stay fixed over each comparison; no extra payments are assumed. Figures round independently. They are reproducible using Pragmatic’s public calculators.

## Source and interview enquiries

For a calculation walkthrough, data question, correction or a request to speak with the licensed team, use info@pragmatic.mortgage or https://pragmatic.mortgage/contact?topic=general. Do not send financial documents by email.

When quoting a figure, identify the example or rate snapshot, its date, assumptions and source URL. Current rate data can change; retain the downloaded CSV with its assembly and source-check dates. Public source links do not include internal lender communications or borrower information.