Three months ago, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told banks to tighten lending on their own. Now he’s doing it for them. The Department of Finance released a number of mortgage rules last Thursday that will mean large changes to housing in the years to come.

Their main purpose for these changes is to slow down the booming housing market, by restricting buying power, and reduce household debt without increasing interest rates. To stop there being a rush to get a mortgage prior to the rule changes, the government only gave until July 9th to implement the changes. So, if you haven’t made your purchase offer prior to this date and submitted for approval the changes may affect you. Continue reading →