Effective June 1, government increases stress test rate, both for insured (low downpayment) and uninsured mortgages. Translates to a reduction in buying power by approximately 4 to 4.5%.
Mad rush to submit offers before deadline, this will be messy. Probably creating even more bumps in prices.
Consensus opinion is this does nothing for helping first time homebuyers. Originally the proposal was only for ‘uninsured’ mortgages (over 20% downpayment), then they sneak in last minute announcement for ‘insured’ mortgages, which is largely first time homebuyers.
Technical details: Stress test is now higher of 5.25% (up from 4.79%) or the contract rate plus 2%.