The Edmonton Real Estate Blog, Market Information, Advise & Opinion

It is true. The only constant is change! The mortgage world has endured a slew of government imposed changes in the last little while. Here is a brief update of the recent changes in the mortgage world:

1. RATE INCREASES ON FIXED RATE MORTGAGES: we’ve received three significant increases over the last month, increasing the five year fixed rate by almost 1%. This is an additional squeeze on the pocketbook for anyone wishing to enter the housing market. It’s really important to get a pre-approval completed if you are in the market for a home or a new mortgage as most lenders will lock in a rate for 120 days. You’ll be protected from any further rate increases within that time period. Of course, if the rates go down you’ll get the lower rate as well. A pre-approval only takes about 10 minutes to complete so it’s definitely worth your time to get one done. Please feel free to phone or email me to get started on your pre-approval!

2. GOVERNMENT CHANGES TO THE QUALIFYING RATE: What does this mean? If you are taking out a mortgage and are choosing a term of less than five years or a variable rate you’ll now have to qualify for the mortgage using the Bank of Canada benchmark rate (currently 6.10%). If you choose a five year, fixed term you’ll only have to qualify at the contract rate (the rate you are actually paying). This means the vast majority of people will likely choose a 5 year fixed ratemortgage. To be honest, I don’t really think this is much of a concern as most borrowers choose a five year term anyway. However, if you have your heart set on a variable rate it’s definitely tougher to qualify.

3. REFINANCING YOUR HOME: If you’d like to access some of the equity you’ve built up in your home for some other purpose (buying RRSP’s, purchasing a vacation property, consolidating debt etc) you’ll now be restricted to 90% of your home’s equity. The previous rules allowed you to refinance up to 95% of the value of your home. Again, I personally don’t think this is a big deal. It’s actually a good change and will force borrowers to be a bit more conservative with their borrowing.

4. INCREASED DOWN PAYMENTS FOR RENTAL PROPERTY: If you purchase, port or refinance a rental property you’ll now need at least 20% equity in the property compared to the previous underwriting guideline of 5%. I think this move will hopefully prevent unsophisticated borrowers from entering the revenue property market. Owning a revenue property is a big step and I’m sure borrowers will take it more seriously when they have to put at least 20% into the property.

Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions, concerns or require a pre-approval or mortgage assistance!

 

Once again, thank you Natelie Wellings for your thoughfull insight on mortgages.

 

Mike