Asking the bank for lower mortgage rate?

[Canadian]

I was looking at the mortgage rates for 5 year closed mortgage offered by several of the big Canadian banks and I have a question. The Royal Bank of Canada site for example, has a special 5-year closed mortgage rate of 5.59% as of today. Would it be possible to negotiate down this rate? Is that acceptable practice when you apply for mortgage in Canada?

[BankAdmin]

Yes, negotiating your mortgage rate is perfectly acceptable in Canada. In fact it's a smart thing to do, because if you succeed even a small rate discount can save you thousands of dollars in interest over the life of your mortgage.

If you have a good credit history and your don't have much debt, tell the loan officer that you are low-risk borrower and simply ask for a interest rate reduction because of that. You'll be surprised in how many cases this can actually work.

Another important thing to do is to shop around for the best mortgage rate. Don't just get quote from 1 or 2 banks, instead do this with all big Canadian banks and any other Canadian mortgage lender you can find. You may consider talking to a mortgage broker, as they can give you multiple offers and essentially do the leg work for you.

Good luck!