{"id":1925,"date":"2020-09-02T13:25:30","date_gmt":"2020-09-02T17:25:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cli-mu.qarea.org\/brokers\/?p=1925"},"modified":"2023-05-17T16:28:28","modified_gmt":"2023-05-17T20:28:28","slug":"regulations-drive-a-growing-demand-for-private-mortgages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.canadianlending.ca\/brokers\/regulations-drive-a-growing-demand-for-private-mortgages\/","title":{"rendered":"Government Imposed Regulations Drive a Growing Demand For Private Mortgages\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
As federal lending regulations tighten (again), Canadian consumers turn to private lenders\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Since the 2008 financial crisis, the Canadian government has progressively increased and tightened the regulations pertaining to residential mortgage financing. These rules have sought to control the unsustainable growth in house prices by squeezing buyers out of the market and lowering demand. However, these regulations also made it harder than ever before for Canadians to qualify for traditional financing. Predictably, this has contributed to the rapid growth of the private mortgage sector.\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Since the financial crisis of 2008, the Canadian government has imposed over 60 housing finance restrictions, creating a steadily more conservative lending environment and making it harder for the average Canadian to own a home.<\/span><\/p>\n The new regulations represented a significant shift away from the \u2018old ways\u2019 of underwriting mortgages. Prior to the financial crisis, regulations were heading towards credit loosening, with far less stringent lending standards. For example, in 2006 there were no minimum credit score requirements to qualify, and the standard amortization term for insured mortgages was raised from 25 years to 40 years. Zero-down mortgages and interest-only mortgages both became eligible for mortgage insurance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n At the height of the financial crisis, changes were implemented with the explicit objective of quelling high loan-to-value and high loan-to-income mortgages, with the overall goal of protecting homeowners, reducing government and taxpayer risk, and lowering the risk of another financial crash.<\/span><\/p>\n As the economy recovered and house prices skyrocketed to record highs in 2012, successive rules were implemented in order to stem the rising ratio of household debt, which had been driven largely by growing levels of mortgage debt.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n These mandates from the federal government were designed to curtail housing demand and rein in the unsustainable growth in house prices, especially across major cities, where egregiously high property values could not be justified by market fundamentals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The strict lending rules imposed by the government are only obligatory for federally regulated lenders and only apply for mortgages with a down payment of 20% or less, which are insured and guaranteed by the federal government. Issuing insured mortgages presents virtually no risk to Canada\u2019s banks and financial institutions, which incentivizes lenders to reduce their risk burden by only issuing mortgages that adhere to federal guidelines.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sticking to insured mortgages also enables lenders to repackage and sell their portfolios as lucrative Mortgage Backed Securities on secondary markets.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Why were these regulations implemented?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Which lenders are mandated to follow federal regulations?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n