Abundance Mortgage Team

Department of Finance's announcement has some significant changes to insured mortgages which ultimately will impact the housing market. To summarize: 1. All insured mortgages will now need to qualify at the Bank of Canada benchmark rate (4.64%) instead of the contract rate offered on their commitment. This change is scheduled to come into effect on October 17, 2016. 2. Portfolio (‘bulk’) insurance must now meet the same criteria as those that are high ratio insured. This ch...ange is scheduled to come into effect on November 30. This means that amortizations greater than 25 years, rental and investment properties and homes with values greater than $1M can no longer be portfolio-insured. 3. Capital gains exemptions on principal residences will apply only to residents of Canada. 4. In addition, there is further discussion about ‘sharing in risk’ that is currently borne in large part by the three mortgage insurers. While high ratio customers and portfolio insurance funders pay for this risk, there is discussion about sharing in the cost of losses beyond just the mortgage insurers. This in and of itself could have significant implications. We will continue to monitor any discussion around this as well. If you want to find out how this impacts you, please feel free to contact us.

Fiscal policy not just monetary policy is required to stimulate economy. Looking forward to hearing what Liberal's first budget (Mar 22) will look like.

We would like to take the time to say THANK YOU for your support this past year and in years past. We wish you and your family a Christmas and New Year full of love, joy, health, and wealth! Sincerely,... Bai and Bo See more