In an effort to ensure that Canadians are not taking on more mortgage debt than they should, the Liberal government announced several changes that will come into effect beginning on October 17th. These changes are:
1.) Expanding the mortgage rate stress test to all insured mortgages.
2.) The government will impose new restrictions on when it will provide insurance for low-ratio mortgages (beginning November 30th).
3.) New reporting rules for the primary residence capital gains exemption.
4.) The government is launching consultations on lender risk sharing.
These new rules will not only impact Canadians looking to buy homes, but it is also an attempt to curb additional foreign ownership of Canadian real estate. Evidently, housing affordability has become a very big concern of the federal government as it can hinder economic growth in the long run. If Canadians are spending a large portion of their incomes just to pay expenses related to their homes, it means they will have less disposable income to allocate towards miscellaneous spending. A consumer that has more cash available for spending is one of the greatest assets to stimulate an economy.
Here is a link of an article which you can read on the Globe and Mail website which describes all the new changes in greater detail: