Thursday, June 21, 2012

Smart Canadian mortgage policy


Flaherty clamps down on mortgage rules to cool overheating market

 

Acknowledging his concern that Canada’s housing market is overheating, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is clamping down with four changes to mortgage insurance rules...

...Mr. Flaherty confirmed that Ottawa will reduce the maximum amortization period to 25 years from 30 years. Secondly, the maximum amount of equity homeowners can take out of their homes in a refinancing is being reduced to 80 per cent from 85 per cent...

...the availability of insured mortgages will be limited to homes with a purchase price of less than $1-million...

...there will also be a new rule aimed at ensuring the size of a loan is not too big in comparison to household income. The maximum gross debt service ratio will be fixed at 39 per cent and the maximum total debt service ratio at 44 per cent.
Smart policies that should have been implemented in the US.

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