Mortgage loan insurance business down 33% for CMHC in second-quarter report
OTTAWA — Canada’s national housing agency says new regulations introduced last fall decreased the size of the country’s insured mortgage market by about 33 per cent year-over-year in the second quarter.
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says in its latest financial report that it provided mortgage loan insurance to 78,607 units in the three-month period ended June 30 compared to 117,463 units during the same period a year ago.
CMHC says volumes decreased largely as a result of the new regulations announced by the federal government in the fourth quarter of 2016.
The mortgage rules require all home buyers with less than a 20 per cent down payment to undergo a stress test to ensure the borrower can still service their loan should interest rates rise, or their personal finances fall. This cut into the purchasing power of some first-time homebuyers.