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Previously only those with less than 20% down were tested, but now all borrowers will be.

Canada's top banking regulator has published the final version of its new mortgage rules, which include a requirement to "stress test" borrowers with uninsured loans to ensure they could withstand higher interest rates.

The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) released new guidelines for the mortgage industry on Tuesday. The regulator floated a similar version of these rules earlier this summer in draft form, but Tuesday's release makes them official as of Jan. 1. Among the major new rules is a requirement to stress test uninsured borrowers. Previously, only insured borrowers had to undergo such a test.

By law, borrowers with a down

Buying to rent: tips from a seasoned real estate investor

Buying to rent is a way to ride out the ups and downs of the real estate market and the economy, said Ann Kaplan, president and CEO of national consumer finance company iFinance Canada. (Kaplan also appeared on The Real Housewives of Toronto, a show run by Slice, one of the brands owned by Corus Entertainment, which also owns Global Television and Global News.) Kaplan, who gradually built a portfolio of  seven residential and commercial properties in Vancouver, Victoria and Toronto, has some advice for those buying investment properties as a means to enter the market:

Decide what price you want to pay and be prepared to walk away if you don’t get it. When you’re buying investment property,

With Selina Robinson, MLA for Coquitlam-Maillairdville, sworn in this week as the new Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, what can we expect her priorities to be over the coming months?

As former NDP housing critic David Eby has now become BC’s new Attorney-General, Robinson will be facing a lot of pressure to make good on promises that both she and Eby made on the campaign trail. She told voters in the run-up to the May election that the NDP’s key housing priorities were to introduce a speculation tax in Metro Vancouver and Victoria, in an attempt to calm those hot real estate markets.

The NDP’s housing platform also pledged to introduce a 2% annual property tax, based on the assessed property value, for owners of Vancouver real estate who

On May 9, British Columbians cast their votes for the next provincial government.

It took a couple of weeks to get the final results, and now the elected parties—the Liberals, the NDP and the Greens—must work together to govern this diverse province.

A topic that all three elected parties agree on is the importance of housing affordability. Housing was a key election issue throughout the campaign period, and all three parties made numerous policy promises about it in their election platforms.

The parties took differing positions on some aspects of housing affordability. The Liberals highlighted financial incentives for home buyers and homeowners that they introduced in the last legislative session, proposing a gradual approach to expand these

Vancouver, BC – June 13, 2017. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 12,402 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in May, down 7.9 per cent from the same period last year. Total sales dollar volume was $9.33 billion, down 4.0 per cent from May 2017. The average MLS® residential price in the province was $752,536, a 4.2 per cent increase from the same period last year.

"Market conditions have tightened considerably this spring as an upturn in consumer demand has not been accompanied by a rise in homes listed for sale," said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. "The supply of homes for sale in the province has fallen 50 per cent over the past five years."

"The entire

When it comes down to selling your home, there are certain home improvements that will generate more value than others.

Knowing which ones are right for you can be tricky; after all you want to maximize your return on investment (ROI) without sacrificing too much. Replacing the practical, everyday, features of your home, remembering to landscape your yard, and constantly maintaining your home are some of our top tips for valuable home improvements.  

Replacing the Practical Features

The practical, everyday, features of your home are the ones that will add significant value. Updating outdated windows, either by replacing or painting, can create a great first impression; as the exterior of your home will look fresh and new!

Then there’s

As the summer approaches, Canadians from coast to coast are getting ready to indulge in the ultimate homeowner’s pleasure: renovations. And what better way to finance that marble countertop than a home equity line of credit (HELOC)?

By Erica Alini National Online Journalist, Money/Consumer  Global News

HELOCs are loans where the borrower’s equity in her or his home acts as security. And they are Canadians’ preferred financial tool to pay for large home improvement projects, for a few reasons.

First, they allow homeowners to borrow large amounts of money. Do you have $100,000 of equity in your home? You might be able to get a HELOC for close to that amount — and that should be plenty for, say, most kitchen redos.

Second, because the bank can

Canadians just aren’t interested in buying homes the way they used to be.

That much is clear from the annual RBC Home Ownership Poll, which was released Monday. It showed that only a quarter of Canadians plan on buying a home in the next two years, down from nearly 30 per cent in 2016. It’s a trend that comes as Canada’s average home price has climbed to almost $520,000, up 3.5 per cent from a year earlier, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).

Many Canadians still believe that buying a home is a good investment, but potential buyers are delaying their purchases in the hope that prices will come down, the RBC poll showed.

“For many Canadians, buying a home is a financial and personal milestone – often the biggest investment

New mortgage insurance rules introduced by the federal government last fall to cool the housing market have led to a sharp drop in insurance volumes for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. as fewer home buyers qualify for mortgage insurance.

CMHC said total insured volumes fell 41 per cent in the first quarter of 2017, including a 23-per-cent drop in homeowner insurance volumes and an 87-per-cent decline in the volume of portfolio insurance, which is bulk insurance purchased by financial institutions for their portfolios of uninsured mortgages.

The numbers unveiled on Tuesday offer a window into the impact of the government’s new rules, suggesting they have led to a significant decline in the number of people qualifying for insured mortgages under the

House hunting is challenging enough at any time

Shopping during a seller's market is a whole additional difficulty level—and that's what would-be buyers are seeing across the country. The supply of homes is low, demand is high, and sellers are in control. If you’re not careful, you'll be left drying your eyes with the broken shards of your rejected bid. Sound painful? It is.

So you'd best bring your A-game, or don't bother showing up at all. Check out the seller's market survival tips below to stand out from the competition and get the edge.

Know the signs

Even though you may hear you're in a seller's market, where's the proof? While the market always varies you can watch for these two red flags:

• Houses are selling for more than asking