Down payment requirements for buying a home may rise
Posted July 16, 2015 7:04 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The required down payment to buy a home may soon be on the rise. As interest rates are down again, mortgage rates may soon follow.
In what could be an attempt to cool off the red-hot housing markets in Vancouver and Toronto — and calm things down if mortgage rates fall further — the federal government is reportedly considering an increase to the minimum five per cent down payment requirement.
The National Post quotes Ottawa insiders who say the finance department has a particular interest in adding restrictions to the high-end housing market.
While the Post reports the ideas are being denied by government officials, observers say the push to make to make rule changes likely intensified with the Bank of Canada’s latest interest rate reduction, which may lead to fresh record lows for mortgage costs.
The Post reports one scenario would see down payment requirements increased for homes priced above $1 million.
