https://therealbc.ca

REAL BC is a grassroots alliance of BC real estate professionals that was formed to advocate on behalf of real estate practitioners, consumers and the communities in which they live. Our members live, work and contribute to communities throughout BC. We intend to ensure that our collective voices are heard while we engage government on the significance and consequences of the public policy changes proposed in the months ahead.

The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) announced new restrictions on uninsured mortgages today. Effective January 1, 2018, all home-buyers with a down-payment of more than 20 per cent will have to qualify at the higher of the posted 5-year qualifying rate and their contractual rate plus 200 basis points (2 per cent).  This is in addition to policy announced in October of 2016 that required all insured borrowers qualify at the posted 5-year qualifying rate. 

In addition to the new stress test for uninsured mortgages, OSFI is also requiring lenders to establish and adhere to appropriate loan-to-value limits reflective of risk and the current economic environment and is prohibiting s lending arrangements designed to circumvent loan-to-value limits such as combing mortgages with other lending products. 

These new residential mortgage underwriting requirements will apply to all Federally regulated financial institutions.

The impact of the new stress test requirement will be to lower the purchasing power of households by up to 20 cent. Like past tightening of mortgage regulations, we anticipate that the market impact will be sharp but temporary. In the past, we have seen home sales decline in the 3 to 9 months following the implementation of tighter mortgage lending standards, with the severity of the impact fading within one year.  However, these new regulations impact a larger pool of mortgages and so the impact could be more significant than in the past.

Real estate boards, real estate associations and REALTORS® may reprint this content, provided that credit is given to BCREA by including the following statement: “Copyright British Columbia Real Estate Association. Reprinted with permission.” BCREA makes no guarantees as to the accuracy or completeness of this information.

A home is an important part of the enviable quality of life many British Columbians seek. REALTORS® hear this every day from their clients all around the province.

On this website, the British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) offers several suggestions to match housing supply with demand and to improve the ability of residents to buy and rent appropriate homes. These recommendations are grouped under five pillars that support market housing affordability.

More info press on this link http://www.bchousingaffordability.ca

BC Real Estate Association (BCREA) Economist Brendon Ogmundson discusses the March 2017 statistics.