The first decline of a qualifying mortgage rate since B-20 took effect

It’s the first time that the interest rate used for mortgage stress tests went down since 2016. As a result, it’s slightly easier for borrowers to get a mortgage today, especially for first-time homeowners who have been facing extra difficulties with the B-20 stress test. The benchmark posted 5-year fixed rate was down from 5.34% to 5.19%, marking the first decline since May 9, 2018. Moreover, it’s the first drop since Sept. 7, 2016, even in spite of a 1.06% decline of Canada’s 5-year bond rate since November 8, 2018.

The qualifying mortgage rate is released each week by the banks and then posted by the Bank of Canada every Thursday. The BoC studies posted 5-year fixed rates of the six main banks’ every Wednesday and uses the average number to determine the official benchmark. During the previous 18 months, since the revised B-20 stress test was introduced, the posted rates have exceeded the rates, which banks are ready to offer, by about 2%. They expect borrowers to negotiate and push the rate lower.

Canadian and Chinese consumers are among the most popular foreign home buyers in the U.S.

Canadians are still among main buyers of residential homes in the United States.

Moreover, Canadians bought as many properties there as the Chinese, although they tend to focus on the less expensive real estate. While Chinese buyers bought U$13.4 billion of U.S. properties, in case of Canadians the number is only $8 billion.

According to the National Association of Realtors, overall foreign investment in U.S. real estate reached $77.9 billion during the period from April 2018 to March 2019, which is 36% lower than during the previous year.

Alternative lending becomes more popular

In 2018, Canada saw a growing number of borrowers addressing alternative lenders. Meanwhile, new mortgage growth was the slowest in more than a quarter of a century, pushed down by government interventions aimed at cooling the real estate market.

The recent report by CMHC says alternative lenders, which work with riskier clients, took 1% of Canadian mortgages last year.

There were 200-300 active alternative lenders in Canada in 2018, accounting for $13-$14 billion of outstanding Canadian mortgages. It was $11-$12 billion a year earlier, and about $8-$10 billion in 2016.

According to CMHC, their share at the market is rising, noted Tania Bourassa-Ochoa.