National  Real Estate Market Update For November 2015

Changes

“Changes to mortgage regulations taking effect in mid-February next year appear aimed at cooling the Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto housing markets,”    Gregory Klump, CREA’s Chief Economist.

Upcoming changes to minimum down payments for Government insured mortgages may affect the ability of some home buyers with great incomes but little in the way of down payment to buy higher priced homes.

This limiting effect may in turn have a cooling effect on some of the countries on some of the countries hottest markets. The concern is that it may cause collateral damage to house markets already hit by the collapsing oil prices.

“Minimum down payments will be going up for homes that sell for more than half a million dollars, so larger more expensive housing markets will be affected most. Unfortunately, the regulatory changes will also cause unintended collateral damage to housing markets beyond Toronto and Vancouver, including places that are facing economic headwinds from the collapse in oil prices.”

View the November Highlights