by Ephraim Vecina 03 Nov 2017 Mortgage Broker News
Earlier this week, Canada’s national mortgage industry association met with over 50 Members of Parliament and senior government officials to discuss the country’s persistent housing market issues.
Foremost among Mortgage Professionals Canada’s concerns were the various negative effects (upon consumers and industry players alike) of last month’s changes to national mortgage rules, along with the long-running problems of housing affordability, availability, and accessibility.
“We are concerned that the cumulative impact of recent mortgage changes are slowing housing market activity, decreasing competition and increasing costs for consumers,” MPC president and CEO Paul Taylor said.
“That said, we have been encouraged that Members of Parliament are listening to our concerns, and we continue to inform them of the positive role mortgage brokers play in the market.”
While MPC acknowledged that the rational of the recent changes was to moderate the hottest markets—which has somewhat borne fruit in the Greater Toronto Area, and “to a lesser extent” in Vancouver—latest numbers have shown that “there is evidence of reductions in housing activity, both sales and housing starts, in areas of the country that were already moderate, flat, or even declining.”
The association pointed at figures released by the CMHC, which showed that the Crown corporation’s insured volumes drastically dropped by 34% in the first half of 2017, “indicative of a reduction in home purchases by young Canadians from middle and low income families, and first time home buyers.”
“The association is concerned that the combination of the changes, and the speed with which they have been cumulatively implemented, have created some adverse effects which could cause a potentially significant decline in housing activity nationally,” MPC stated.
These trends “will be accelerated by the recent OSFI decision to add a stress test to all uninsured mortgages,” the association warned.
