When you are finally ready to find your home, before you get started shopping, it is wise to know what the current mortgage rates are. After all, your rate will dictate how much interest you can expect to pay over the life of your term. For example, higher interest rates make loans and mortgages more expensive. Homeowners in cities with high-priced real estate, like Vancouver and Toronto, can end up paying hundreds of thousands of dollars more than they borrow over the lifetime of their mortgage. Even small changes to the terms can mean saving tens of thousands of dollars over a 25-year amortization.