On November 20, 2018, Mortgage Professionals Canada volunteers and staff met with some 50 MLAs in Victoria to discuss B.C. housing markets, housing affordability, and the impact of recent changes to the economic wellbeing of the younger Canadian middle class.
We discussed how constituents are being impacted by recent mortgage rule changes by the federal government, which have made it harder for many to qualify for a mortgage and reinforced our position of supporting a strong, stable, affordable and competitive BC housing market.
There was broad agreement that housing affordability remains a transpartisan priority, and many MLAs are supportive of a “stress test” review. We conveyed the fact that the new rules don’t just hurt first-time buyers; they also hurt current homeowners and that the stress test issue will increase as more homeowners eventually face it.
Discussions also focused on homeownership as a key component to middle-class growth; new policies and rising interest rates are hindering first-time buyers; and that B.C.’s strong employment situation should be very positive for housing activity, but the province’s housing activity has definitely decreased, primarily a result of a lack of preferred housing supply for first-time buyers, higher interest rates and the mortgage stress tests (B-20)
