The Federal Government has just announced their anticipated changes to insured mortgage rules to prevent a Canadian housing bubble (which they see no evidence of yet).
The key changes are:
– borrowers must qualify for the 5 year rate even if they opt for a shorter term.
– on refinancing, the maximum amount of equity withdrawal is reduced from 95% to 90%.
– non owner occupied residences bought for speculation now require a 20% down payment.
More info in this Reuters article. There’s still time to buy (or sell) under the old rules, but you better hurry!