Municipal governments are starting to put green standards in place for developers and builders to follow to help protect the planet. But will it really work?
Most real estate investors are aware of the measures and rules that the government is implementing as part of its desperate attempts to cool the country’s booming real estate market. But are investors fully aware of the impact that the federal government’s recent regulation changes could have on them? Shawn Stillman, Director, Principal Broker at Sigmamortgage.ca, thinks not. “The federal government did a very good job of burying the rule changes in a press release about the perceived ‘devil’ in Canada’s real estate market: foreign buyers,” Stillman says. “As a result, a lot of investors are not fully aware of how drastically the landscape has changed and how it will continue to do so if the rest of the federal government’s ideas come into play.” The proposal that Stillman is referring to is risk sharing, which would see lenders take on a greater share of mortgage defaults as the government pushes to decrease taxpayer exposure to the country’s housing market. In a “first loss” approach, lenders would be responsible for a fixed portion of an outstanding loan amount at time of default. In the second option, banks would pay a percentage of the total loan loss. In one scenario, costs to lenders may raise 20 basis points to 30 basis points. “If lenders are forced to take on risk when they insure a mortgage it’s going to have a negative impact for Canadian real estate investors. Risks in Toronto are going to be assessed differently to risks in New Brunswick or Fort McMurray,” Stillman says. “With the CMHC, everyone has been treated equally and got the same rate regardless of location. Once you start having risk based pricing coming in, home buyers are going to have trouble securing funding.” Ultimately, the government’s new proposals would result in the CMHC and the insurance companies no longer backing single unit rentals, which are the backbone of the investor market. “People don’t buy four and five unit buildings and rent them out; people get started in single family units,” Stillman says. “Because they’re not going to be insurable, rates will go up because most lenders can’t lend on those anymore.” “All of sudden something that was cash flow positive or neutral is going to switch to a negative.”
The survey shows that buying a home in a major city centre has risen 5% since last year.
The more time and money a developer spends navigating the extensive labyrinth of procedural processes, the costlier it becomes to build a new home.The more time and money a developer spends navigating the extensive labyrinth of procedural processes, the costlier it becomes to build a new home.
Coming to Toronto May 14-15 is an in-person event discussing multifamily investing and the benefits it can have for new and experienced investors.
Many Torontonians and GTA investors perceive Windsor in a different light. But the reality is, it's a growing city that has much to offer investors, homebuyers, students, immigrants, and retirees alike.
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The Scott McGillivray Real Estate Fund helps people understand passive real estate investing. Scott McGillivray himself has been speaking to people about how to invest in real estate for over 15 years.
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According to OSFI, the real estate market in Canada has seen a massive run-up resulting from low-interest rates and supply/demand imbalances.
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