Economic Forecasts and Performance Review
Housing Policy Developments in Canada
Consistent policy initiatives to maintain a balanced and sustainable market
2016
2017
2018
2019
Canada: Qualifying stress rate
for all new mortgage insurance
must be the greater of the
contract mortgage rate or the
Bank of Canada's conventional
five-year fixed posted rate
• Low-ratio mortgage insurance
eligibility requirements updated
for lenders wishing to use
portfolio insurance:
•
.
•
。 Maximum amortization 25
years
o CAD 1mn max. purchase
price
Minimum credit score of 600
o Owner-occupied property
Elimination of primary
residence tax exemption for
foreign buyers
Min. down payment on insured
increased from 5% to 10% (for
homes CAD 0.5-1.0 mn)
British Columbia: 15% land
transfer tax on non-resident
purchases in Metro Vancouver
introduced
Ontario: 16 measures aimed to
slow rate of house price
appreciation
Key aspects include:
o 15% non-resident
speculation tax
o Expanded rent control to all
private rental units in
Ontario
。 Vacant home tax
CAD 125 mn five-year
program to encourage
construction of new rental
apartment buildings
Canada: OSFI imposes more
stringent stress tests for
uninsured mortgages, including
a minimum qualifying rate at
the greater of the five-year
fixed posted rate or the
contractual rate plus 200 bps,
effective January 1, 2018
• Ontario: Elimination of rent
control on new rental units first
occupied on or before
November 1, 2018
.
British Columbia: Extension of
the Property Transfer Tax on
non-resident buyers.
Investment of more than CAD
1.6 bn through FY2021 toward
the goal of building 114,000
affordable housing units in the
next 10 years
•
British Columbia: Increase in
speculation tax on foreign and
domestic home owners who do
not pay income tax in BC from
0.5% of a property's assessed
value to 2%; additional school
tax levied on portion of a
property's value that exceeds
CAD 3 mn
Ontario: Measures to increase
supply of available housing
Key aspects include:
Greater authority over land
use planning decisions for
the province's independent
municipal dispute resolution
body
Reduced red tape on new
residential developments
Updated zoning regulations
to facilitate building of
affordable homes near
transit
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