Freeze mortgage rules until impact is known says Canada Guaranty boss

Recently introduced mortgage regulations should be assessed to see how they are working before any more are introduced, the CEO of mortgage insurer Canada Guaranty says.

Speaking to the Globe and Mail, Andrew Charles said that first-time buyers are already struggling to become homeowners and are not the reason for price gains in hot markets such as Toronto and Vancouver.

“Regulatory changes over the last few years have made the first-time home buyer a very modest player in the overall Canadian housing market,” he said.

Just last week, the CEO at CMHC Evan Siddall said that there could be a rise in minimum downpayments to further curb price appreciation and financial risk but Charles said such measures would impact the wrong buyers and hurt smaller markets.

He further warned that further changes could have dire consequences for Vancouver, which has already seen activity easing and could be tipped into a sharper correction.
 

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