Canada's New Federal Mortgage Rules: Right Diagnosis, Wrong Medicine?

CALGARY, Feb. 2, 2016 /CNW/ - Frontier Centre for Public Policy has released Wendell Cox's document "Canada's New Federal Mortgage Rules: Right Diagnosis, Wrong Medicine?" The Bank of Canada, international organizations and many financial analysts have expressed concerns about Canada's rising house prices and related household debt. There is a concern that the risks are similar to those during the housing bust that devastated the US economy.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) now require a 10 percent down payment (up from 5 percent) on insured mortgages between $500,000 and $1,000,000 on amounts after the first $500,000. The Cox article suggests that the new rules do not get to the heart of the problem and may not slow price escalation in markets like Vancouver and Toronto. The Calgary housing market may be more impacted by these new rules with an estimated 10 percent of new home sales in the affected price range. The author states that Alberta is already facing many challenges and another impediment to economic activity will not be helpful.

The article "Canada's New Federal Mortgage Rules" can be found here: Canada's New Mortgage Rules

Wendell Cox can be reached at [phone] or [email protected]

SOURCE Frontier Centre for Public Policy

Image with caption: "Wendell Cox (CNW Group/Frontier Centre for Public Policy)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160202_C4045_PHOTO_EN_611284.jpg

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