Here's what the latest rate cut means for mortgage holders, home buyers

Mortgage Minute: Your questions answered It's time for another mortgage minute. Frank Napolitano from Mortgage Brokers Ottawa joins us in studio to answer your questions.

The Bank of Canada has lowered its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.25 per cent.

CTV News looks further into what Wednesday's latest announcement means for mortgage holders – variable or fixed --  and those who are trying to get into the housing market.

"That's good news," Frank Napolitano from Mortgage Brokers Ottawa told CTV Morning Live Thursday. "So, that will mean that anybody that's got a variable or adjustable rate mortgage, they're seeing their rate come down by three quarters of a point since the first announcement in June."

When it comes to getting your mortgage fixed, he says, waiting can be a good idea, citing that economists are expecting the Bank of Canada to cut the rate even more in the coming months.

"If you've already ridden it out this long, where prime rate has stayed elevated for the last four years, why not continue to ride it out now and wait until maybe mid to late next year when the rate drops when they've hit, you know, the last rate drop and then see what the fixed rates are at that point," he explained.

Home sales in Ottawa jumped 10 per cent in August. The Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB) says 1,100 homes were sold in the capital in August after 1,241 units were sold in July. The real estate board says the Bank of Canada's cut in interest rates should help extend the hot summer market into the fall.

"Being a seasonal market, it's very encouraging to see sustained levels of activity throughout the whole summer," Paul Czan, OREB president-elect, says in a statement. "And coupled with a third consecutive interest rate drop from the Bank of Canada, we are anticipating a heated market in the fall."

However, a number of economists don’t believe the first two interest rate cuts helped to kickstart the housing market this summer. Ottawa real estate broker Michael Schurter believes it will give the market a slight bump, but nothing major.

"This rate for buyers really only constitutes about $125 per month savings on a $500,000 loan if somebody is on a variable rate mortgage," Schurter told CTV News. "Although every little bit helps, it's not enough to move the needle too far for people."

Denise Freylejer has been looking for a house in the Ottawa market for a year. While the interest rate cut will help, it won't turn her into a homeowner.

"For my situation, they're not low enough. But it’s definitely looking into the right direction," said Freylejer.

Wednesday's announcement marks the third cut since June. It's the first time the central bank has posted three consecutive cuts since the global financial crisis in 2009.

Governor Tiff Macklem says more rate cuts are expected later this year if the economy continues to improve.

The next rate update is scheduled for Oct. 23.

With files from CTV News Ottawa's Josh Pringle and CTV National News' Mike Le Couteur