Immediate Distribution

The federal election is over and it will be interesting to see over the coming months how this will affect the Canadian mortgage and real estate market.

Many agree that mortgage rules and related policy will not be a significant priority for the Liberal government during this term. However, they have made an election promise to increase eligibility of their recently introduced First Time Homebuyer Incentive plan to assist those in larger markets such as Vancouver and Toronto. They have also promised to implement their national tax on vacant residential properties owned by non-Canadians who don’t currently live in Canada. The Conservatives, on the other hand, had talked about bringing back the 30-year amortization which the Liberals have not at this point put forth as an option. I’ll keep you posted on any changes and how they might affect you.

With the Bank of Canada maintaining their rate at 1.75%, interest rates remain stable which is good news for Canadians. Some even believe and support a rate decrease as early as December of this year.

Heading into the end of the year, the real estate market still seems to be moving up even in the larger Canadian cities which have seen year over year growth despite the mortgage rule changes. A combination of solid job markets, rising family incomes and healthy population have given a strong boost to demand which is putting pressure on prices. Most are predicting 2020 to be a strong market for real estate so if you were thinking of buying your first home or moving up, this could be a great time to buy and take advantage of low rates.