The national banking regulator says it will no longer require borrowers with uninsured mortgages to undergo a stress test when switching providers. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions says it will end the policy for lenders to apply the minimum qualifying rate to straight switches when uninsured mortgages are renewed at a different institution … Read more
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland on Monday announced changes to some mortgage rules as part of an effort to make housing more affordable, although some housing experts are doubtful that the new measures will have a meaningful long-term impact on housing affordability and say they might even push prices up. The federal government will increase the cap on insured mortgages … Read more
The 30-year amortized mortgages announced in the 2024 federal budget are kicking in on Thursday. First-time homebuyers who are purchasing newly built homes can now qualify for a 30-year mortgage, giving them five additional years to pay off an insured mortgage. For other mortgages where default insurance is required, a 25-year amortization limit is still … Read more
Mortgage debt grew at its slowest pace in 23 years in February, amid high borrowing costs and reservations related to the Bank of Canada’s key interest rate — but the slowdown likely won’t last, according to Canada’s housing agency. Canadian mortgage debt totalled $2.16 trillion that month, up 3.4 per cent from the same period last year — a historically low … Read more
Canada’s banking regulator says real estate secured lending and mortgages are among the top risks the country’s financial system is facing, as higher interest rates pressure borrowers. In its annual risk outlook, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions )OSFI) said as homeowners renew their mortgages, they could potentially face a payment shock due to … Read more
The Bank of Canada is getting closer to cutting interest rates as inflation shows signs of coming down and staying down, the central bank’s governor, Tiff Macklem, told MPs Thursday. “We do see renewed downward momentum in underlying inflation. The message to Canadians is, we are getting closer. We are seeing what we need to … Read more
The Trudeau government is promising $9 billion in new cash for Indigenous communities over the next five years, a smaller spend than some past budgets but one the government says builds on past investments and maintains an upward trend. The plan sparked mixed reviews from Indigenous leaders, with some immediately panning it as a failure and others … Read more
