The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that fixed mortgage rates under the 4-per-cent mark are like an endangered species coming back from the brink of extinction in Canada's current real estate market. The Globe's Erica Alini writes that already, there are sporadic sightings of new five-year loans with rates locked in at a coveted 3.99 per cent. Mortgage brokers expect below-4-per-cent loans to become increasingly common in coming months with borrowing costs likely to continue to decline and lenders competing fiercely for clients. While lower rates can help boost affordability for homebuyers, the bigger impact for now seems to be on borrowers with upcoming mortgage renewals. That is because the gap is shrinking between the low rates many homeowners secured right before or in the earlier stages of the pandemic and the new, higher rates they will have to sign up for when their loans roll over into a new mortgage term. In the Greater Toronto Area, Tuli Parubets, a mortgage agent with Mortgage Scout, said she recently helped a borrower renew with a 3.99-per-cent rate on a five-year fixed uninsured mortgage at one of the big banks. The lender had initially offered a rate of 5.09 per cent on a five-year fixed rate.