Market News
Here’s how much house you’ll be able to buy with the new mortgage stress test
Canada’s banking regulator introduced new rules on Tuesday that extend the requirement for a mortgage stress test to all homebuyers, including those with larger down payments. Currently, the stress test applies only to mortgages with lower down payments and those with a term of less than five years.
Today, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) introduced a new minimum qualifying rate – a.k.a “stress test” – even for uninsured mortgages, which have down payments of 20 per cent or more.
The guidelines will take effect Jan. 1, 2018 and apply to new mortgages as well as mortgage renewal applications if borrowers switch lenders. Financial institutions won’t be obligated to apply the test at mortgage renewal for existing borrowers, although they may choose to do so, OSFI told Global News.
The new guidelines now require federally regulated financial institutions to vet applicants for uninsured mortgages by using a minimum qualifying rate equal to the greater of the Bank of Canada’s five-year benchmark rate (currently 4.89 per cent) or their contractual rate plus 2 percentage points.
What this means for your mortgage
Here’s how the rules would play out for a family with $100,000 in annual income, according to numbers provided by Ratehub.ca, a mortgage rates and credit cards comparisons site.
Let’s consider a first scenario in which the family is offered a mortgage rate of 2.83 per cent, which is more than two percentage points below the current Bank of Canada five-year benchmark of 4.89 per cent.
If they were to apply for a mortgage today, with 20 per cent down payment, a five-year fixed mortgage, and a 25-year amortization period, they would be able to afford a home worth $726,939.
If they were to apply for a mortgage on or after Jan. 1, they would be able to afford only $570,970, with a 20 per cent down payment.
Information kindly provided by Global News.
February saw steady home buyer demand and reduced home seller supply across Metro Vancouver*.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential home sales in the region totalled 2,150 in February 2020, a 44.9 per cent increase from the 1,484 sales recorded in February 2019, and a 36.9 per cent increase from the 1,571 homes sold in January 2020.
Last month’s sales were 15.6 per cent below the 10-year February sales average.
Home sale and price activity remained steady in Metro Vancouver* to start 2020 while home listing activity declined in January.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential home sales in the region totalled 1,571 in January 2020, a 42.4 per cent increase from the 1,103 sales recorded in January 2019, and a 22.1 per cent decrease from the 2,016 homes sold in December 2019.
Last month’s sales were 7.3 per cent below the 10-year January sales average.
The Metro Vancouver* housing market experienced below average sales activity and moderate price declines in 2019.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that sales of detached, attached and apartment homes reached 25,351 in 2019, a three per cent increase from the 24,619 sales recorded in 2018, and a 29.6 per cent decrease over the 35,993 residential sales in 2017.
Last year’s sales total was 20.3 per cent below the region’s 10-year sales average.
After a quieter first half of 2019, home buyer activity has returned to more historically typical levels in Metro Vancouver*.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential home sales in the region totalled 2,498 in November 2019, a 55.3 per cent increase from the 1,608 sales recorded in November 2018, and a 12.6 per cent decline from the 2,858 homes sold in October 2019.
Last month’s sales were four per cent above the 10-year November sales average.
The Metro Vancouver housing market is experiencing a fall pickup in home sale activity.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential home sales in the region totalled 2,858 in October 2019, a 45.4 per cent increase from the 1,966 sales recorded in October 2018, and a 22.5 per cent increase from the 2,333 homes sold in September 2019.
Last month’s sales were 9.8 per cent above the 10-year October sales average.
Home buyer demand has returned to more historically typical levels in Metro Vancouver* over the last three months.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential home sales in the region totalled 2,333 in September 2019, a 46.3 per cent increase from the 1,595 sales recorded in September 2018, and a 4.6 per cent increase from the 2,231 homes sold in August 2019.
Last month’s sales were 1.7 per cent below the 10-year September sales average.
Home buyer activity increased to more typical levels in Metro Vancouver* throughout the summer months.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential home sales in the region totalled 2,231 in August 2019, a 15.7 per cent increase from the 1,929 sales recorded in August 2018, and a 12.7 per cent decrease from the 2,557 homes sold in July 2019.
Last month’s sales were 9.2 per cent below the 10-year August sales average.
With home buyer demand below long-term historical averages in June, the supply of homes for sale continued to accumulate in Metro Vancouver*.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential home sales in the region totalled 2,077 in June 2019, a 14.4 per cent decrease from the 2,425 sales recorded in June 2018 and a 21.3 per cent decrease from the 2,638 homes sold in May 2019.
Last month’s sales were 34.7 per cent below the 10-year June sales average. This is the lowest total for the month since 2000.
Source: https://www.rebgv.org/market-watch/monthly-market-report/
