New Zealand’s central bank is considering tightening mortgage lending standards even further. In June the New Zealand Government gave the Reserve Bank the green light to tighten lending. This morning, they announced they’ll consider a series of new measures in October. The big changes they’ll consider are further limits to high loan-to-value ratio (LVR) borrowing, […]
Canadian real estate affordability deteriorated so fast, it will delay buyers by years. National Bank of Canada (NBC) crunched the numbers on how long it would take to save a down payment in Q2 2021. Not buy the home, but to just have the minimum required down payment to get a mortgage. Over one quarter, […]
Canadian real estate just got another data point to show how lofty recent home price gains have been. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) released the median after-tax income of households in 2019. The data confirms what many suspected — home prices grew much faster than incomes. A lot faster. About Today’s Data Today we’re going to […]
New Zealand may be the first advanced economy to hike interest rates. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) abruptly announced a halt to the Large Scale Asset Purchase (LSAP) program. Along with the announcement was the release of the Monetary Policy Committee notes. The Committee said the risk of deflation has now passed, and […]
One of Canada’s largest financial institutions sees the market cooling. Desjardins senior economist Benoit Durocher expects real estate to stabilize soon. This won’t be due to government action or new policy measures though. He sees the cooling as a result of a lack of affordability, and the economy reopening. Stabilization is most likely, but cooling […]
A new mortgage stress test? Don’t bother me with those peasant details. After Canada’s property bubble attracted global criticism, they announced tighter mortgage lending. On April 8, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) said they would make the stress test harder. By the following Monday, the first bank launched a pilot mortgage […]
The Canadian real estate industry got what it wanted from the latest budget — nothing. The Government of Canada (GoC) released Budget 2021 this afternoon. Despite housing becoming a boiling point issue, it was largely ignored. There were few commitments that would impact market prices in the near term. Beneficial Ownership Won’t Be Arriving Until […]
One of Canada’s largest banks isn’t joining its peers in a call for housing cooling measures. Scotiabank Chief Economist Jean-François Perrault thinks the country should take a wait-and-see approach. The bank is warning a hasty decision could unfairly penalize existing homeowners. They suggest Canada wait it out, because rising inventory may solve the issue in […]
Canada’s lack of housing affordability is coming for that record top spot. RBC senior economist Robert Hogue published his quarterly affordability assessment for Q4 2020. Home prices have increased almost enough to erase the drop in mortgage rates. The bank sees the current momentum pushing prices higher in the near term. If payments rise even […]
The Canadian government will not be taxing home equity — at least not under the current administration. Minister Ahmed Hussen, who oversees the country’s housing portfolio, said they will not entertain a tax on home equity, today. This comes after increasing calls from academics, and even banks, to consider doing so. It also comes just […]
