New federal rules intended to cool down super-hot housing markets like Toronto and Vancouver will likely end up hurting average buyers the most, according to critics closely watching the soaring prices.
Under new rules that took effect Monday, homebuyers will now have to pay a 10 per cent down payment on houses between $500,000 and $1-million. Homes with a price tag of over $1-million will still require a 20 per cent down payment.
Although Finance Minister Bill Morneau said the new regulations would only affect approximately one per cent of the overall real estate market in Canada, it’s expected that percentage is much higher for Vancouver.
Real estate expert Peter Kinch expected the rules would affect six per cent of transactions in the Vancouver area, though with the average price of a detached home reaching more than $1.2-million, many of the transactions will be for condos and townhomes.
Critics are worried the new rules will do little to slow the market here, but instead hurt average people scraping money together to get into the market.
It’s expected some first-time buyers may have to delay their purchases for several months – in some cases several years – in order to save up the extra money now required for the increased down payment.
On a $700,000 purchase, a buyer would require an extra $10,000 down.
“People are going to find other ways to come up with that down payment,” Kinch told CTV Morning Live.
“It might mean there’s an increase in the bank of mom and dad stepping up.”
According to MLS, a total of 558 listings in Vancouver are between $500,000 and $1-million. Just a handful of those are single family homes.
