Fixed vs. variable mortgage rates
Compare payment certainty under a fixed rate with the potential increases and decreases of a variable-rate mortgage.
A fixed-rate mortgage keeps its contractual rate unchanged for the defined fixed period, making the principal-and-interest payment predictable. A variable rate can reset from a reference index plus a margin, so the payment and total cost may rise or fall.
Fixed rates trade certainty for the offered price. Variable rates may begin lower but shift interest-rate risk to the borrower. Ask about the reference index, margin, reset dates, caps and floors, payment recalculation, conversion options and worst-case affordability.
The mortgage calculator assumes one constant rate. To explore a variable loan, run separate rate scenarios; a single fixed-rate output cannot model the exact future path.
Choose based on risk capacity and contract terms, not a prediction that rates must move in one direction.