Housing markets across Canada slowed significantly in 2018 as a result of higher interest rates coupled with mortgage stress tests and other policy changes that have constrained homebuying.

Mortgage Professionals Canada’s latest consumer research report, Annual State of the Residential Mortgage Market in Canada, examines the negative impacts of federal policies on housing markets across the country.

Report author and Mortgage Professionals Canada Chief Economist, Will Dunning, shares how policy changes are disqualifying potential first-time homebuyers and creating considerable pressure on the rental market, which is in turn driving rental prices higher. The reduction of activity in the housing market and extremely low rental vacancy rates have had significant consequences on homebuyers and renters, as well as employment and the overall economy.

The report illustrates that, as President and CEO Paul Taylor has discussed with policymakers, a more reasonable stress test level and lending restriction reforms are now needed to strike a better balance for borrowers and policymakers, improving housing affordability and Canada’s economy.  Read the FULL REPORT HERE.

2018 Q4 Data Now Available

Mortgage Professionals Canada and its Chief Economist Will Dunning produce monthly Housing Market Digests to provide a snapshot and trend analysis of the Canadian – and respective regional – housing markets, content that includes information around housing starts, the resale market, employment trends, interest rates, and more.

Get fourth quarter housing market information for Canada and each province including resale market data, housing stats, employment trends and interests rates from the latest Housing Market Digests here.

As goes housing, so goes the economy

The pundits have been saying for quite some time that the slowdown in Canada’s housing market is going to have a negative effect on the country’s Gross Domestic Product.  That prediction appears to have come true.

For the past several years housing has been one of the few things that has helped keep the economy afloat.  But it is now clear that rising interest rates and restrictive government policies are supressing the housing market.  The Bank of Canada estimates the slowdown in residential housing investment will represent a -0.1% hit to the overall economy.

It is not a big blow, but it crosses the line into negative territory.  Previous projections had residential housing investment continuing to make a positive contribution of +0.1%.

Many market insiders see this as proof that the federal B-20 guidelines are too heavy-handed and are having an unnecessarily harsh effect on home ownership.  They believe the market decline will take an even bigger bite out of GDP and that there is the real threat of a recession.

Now that it has been about 18 months since the BoC started raising its key interest rate, the effects of the increases are being felt in the greater economy.  Some forecasters predict other sectors are going to experience significant slowdowns as debt-laden consumers adjust to the higher cost of paying back their loans.

Housing: An early election issue 

Housing appears to be taking root as a key issue in upcoming federal election.

We got a preview of that when NDP leader Jagmeet Singh hinted at what an NDP government would do as he launched his campaign in a British Columbia by-election.

Singh was light on details but said his Party’s program would get 500,000 affordable housing units built over a 10 year period.  He also called for the elimination of the GST on the construction of affordable housing, and a doubling of the first-time buyer’s tax credit to $1,500.

In the 2015 election the current Liberal government came to power, in part, on a pledge to revamp Canada’s National Housing Strategy and entrench the “right to housing”.  It also promised to help the middle class and those working to join it.  Presumably that included making sure housing would remain affordable for those buyers.

Steps taken by the Liberals since then have fallen short according to critics and the political opposition.  More than a year ago the Liberals unveiled their $40 billion, 10-year strategy for housing and launched ongoing consultations.  But advocates say the government has gone quiet on the issue of the right to housing.  Many feel it is now too late to get legislation passed before Parliament rises in June, ahead of the October election.  The Liberals says they have spent nearly $6 billion building and repairing affordable housing, so far.

Overall housing affordability for the middle class also remains an unresolved concern.  Rising interest rates, taxes, fees and financial stress tests are seen by many as undue impediments to middle class home ownership.

A recent poll by Abacus Data suggests the price of housing is a top issue for millennials, who will outnumber baby boomers when Canadians vote in the fall.

Mortgage Professionals Canada is renewing its call for action to help millennials and other first-time buyers.  The association estimates government stress tests will have affected 200,000 families by the time the October election is held; having either reduced or completely eliminated their home purchasing power.

MPC has put forward a proposal that would make the current B-20 rules less onerous by reducing the stress test interest premium to just 0.75%, from the current 2.0%.

B-20 Guidelines for Private Mortgages  

A number of media outlets picked up a story published by Reuters that opened with:

“Canada is considering subjecting private lenders to the same mortgage stress test rules faced by banks to prevent housing markets from being destabilized by the lenders’ rapid growth, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.”

We contacted the Ministry of Finance directly for comment and were advised by a senior ministry official that these reports are unsubstantiated. The Ministry official confirmed that they are not currently considering any regulation of private lending. We were told to advise our membership that this article should not be interpreted as the ministry “sending a signal”.

The Ministry continues to monitor the mortgage marketplace, but at this time, any suggestion of the extension of B-20 Guidelines or equivalent to private lending is unsubstantiated.

Mortgage Professionals Canada continues to be in regular contact with the Ministry and government agencies and we will keep you informed should there be any change in this matter.