Canada relaxes some mortgage rules to tackle housing crisis

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland on Monday announced changes to some mortgage rules as part of an effort to make housing more affordable, although some housing experts are doubtful that the new measures will have a meaningful long-term impact on housing affordability and say they might even push prices up.

The federal government will increase the cap on insured mortgages to $1.5 million from $1 million, effective Dec. 15, which would allow more people to buy a house with a down payment below 20 per cent.

Previously, Canadians who do not pay at least a fifth of the cost of the house as a down payment need to take out mortgage insurance, but the insurance was available only for homes priced at $1 million or less. That limit is now $1.5 million.

In addition, purchasers will be able to take out loans for a 30-year period if they are first-time homebuyers or if someone is buying a newly built house, Freeland said. Earlier, the three-decade amortization period was limited to first-time buyers buying newly built houses.

The measures will «incentivize more new housing construction and tackle the housing shortage,» Freeland said in a statement.

The announcement was met with mixed reaction from analysts. RateHub.ca mortgage expert Penelope Graham wrote that expanding the criteria for 30-year mortgage amortizations and increasing the insurance cap «will greatly improve first-time homebuyers' access to the housing market.»

Under the new rules, buyers can purchase more expensive home types with smaller down payments. But it's unclear how the new rules would improve affordability for those coming up on their mortgage renewals, she noted.

Marc Desormaux, a principal economist with Desjardins, said that the changes will mostly benefit some