Mortgage Broker is the magazine of the Canadian Mortgage Brokers Association and showcases the multi-billion dollar mortgage-broking industry to all levels of government, associated organizations and other interested individuals.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1182216
8 | fall 2019 cmba-achc.ca CMB MAGAZINE editorialsummary a billion dollars in lost economic activity. e B-20 stress test should be a flexible policy that is adjusted regularly to respond to economic trends. B-20 is now due for an adjustment for the following reasons: n the debt burden has increased for people unable to access conventional financing who must resort to more expensive alternative mortgage financing; n personal incomes nationally have risen by 12.5 per cent over the last five years; and n a borrower's equity position increases throughout the term of a mortgage due to principal payments. Changing the stress test would help achieve the government's goal of ensuring Canadians don't take on more debt than they can bear, while acknowledging ongoing economic trends. T he new Trudeau-led minority government has an opportunity to collaborate on housing solutions with MPs from the other, mostly regionalized, parties. Chances are a Liberal minority government will either leave current housing policies in a holding pattern or proceed with its pre-election plan to impose a national version of B.C.'s vacant housing tax on non- residents. e NDP makes a likely partner for the Liberals for collaborating on issues such as housing. It is worth noting that two elements of the NDP election platform on housing include waiving the GST/HST on the construction of new rental units and the "reintroduction of 30-year terms to CMHC-insured mortgages on entry-level homes for first-time home buyers." CMBA will continue to advocate for sensible, meaningful change on the housing affordability front. CMBA consists of four provincial mortgage broker associations, united under the Canadian Mortgage Brokers Association umbrella. Following the recommendations of CMBA-BC, which collaborated with other B.C. real estate association sectors, CMBA urges the new federal government to adopt the following recommendations: ADJUST THE MORTGAGE STRESS TEST AND AMORTIZATION RULES In 2018, the federal government enacted new mortgage rules, requiring borrowers to qualify for a mortgage at the higher of either the rate they've negotiated with their bank plus two per cent or the Bank of Canada's five-year rate. is B-20 stress test has had a pronounced impact in B.C., Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces, causing well over Advice for the New Government Provincial mortgage broker associations urge the new federal government to act on the following affordability recommendations BY SAMANTHA GALE