Canadian Real Estate News Headlines (February 8th 2019)

Hello everyone. How are you?

I provide you with Canada’s news headlines for real estate news for today. 

More debt not the answer: Watchdog says contentious mortgage stress test is safety buffer for banks and borrowers

A federal banking regulator defended on Tuesday a stress test for uninsured mortgages that has been criticized for making it harder than it should be for some Canadians to own a home.

“The stress test is, quite simply, a safety buffer that ensures a borrower doesn’t stretch their borrowing capacity to its maximum, and leave no room to absorb unforeseen events,” said Carolyn Rogers, assistant superintendent at the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions.

“This is simply prudent. It’s prudent for the bank and it’s prudent for the borrower.”

The details can be found here. 

Debt isn’t the reason singles are staying away from real estate

When it comes to real estate, single Canadians are staying on the sidelines and it has nothing to do with their debt.

According to a new RE/MAX survey conducted by Leger, almost half of single Canadian respondents say they have less than $5,000 in debt. As a group, they seem to buck the trend of high debt among Canadians.

The details can be found here.

Vancouver home sales fall nearly 40 per cent in January, as prices pull back

Vancouver's once red-hot housing market continued to cool last month as the number of home sales fell to the lowest level seen in January in 10 years.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says 1,103 homes were sold in Metro Vancouver last month, down 39.3 per cent from the same month a year earlier.

Month-over-month, January home sales were up 2.9 per cent versus December 2018.

The details can be found here.