Home Ownership in Canada: A Chronological List of Programs for Buyers
1954: Introduction of the Mortgage Loan Insurance- by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
1971: Principal residences were exempted from Capital Gains in The Income Tax Act
1992: There were two programs created by the federal government.
The first was the Home Buyers’ Plan (HPB) allowing buyers to withdraw up to $20,000, tax-free, from their Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) and use it as a down payment to buy or build a home.
The second, was a test program called the First Home Loan Insurance Program (FHLIP) which decreased the down payment needed to buy a first home from 10% to 5%
1994 The federal government announces the HPB as a permanent program.
1998 The FHLIP was replaced by a permanent program. And instead of 10%, all buyers were now allowed a 5% downpayment.
2006 The CMHC launched CMHC Flex 100- (Remember the zero-downpayment mortgage?) a mortgage loan insurance product for owner-occupiers that allows them, under certain conditions, to buy a property by taking out a loan up to the total value of the property (no down payment required).
The amortization period for owner-occupiers were also extended to up to 40 years, under certain conditions.
2008 The maximum amortization period for new mortgages was reduced to 35 years and the minimum down payment increased from 0 to 5 per cent.
2009 The maximum amount that can be withdrawn as part of the HBP increased to $25,000
2011 The maximum amortization period for new mortgages was reduced to 30 years
Adapted from and Article from the Market Analysis Department of the QFREB
Sources: Government of Canada, CMHC, Industry Canada and the Department of Finance Canada.
Posted By: Deya Bautista - Real Estate Broker working as part of the McGill Immobilier team. Specializing in high end condos in downtown and Old Montreal. For buying or selling contact Deya at: 514.917.7889 http://montrealrealestateblog.com/
How’s the Market? Canadian Housing Market Stabilizing in 2011
News on the national real estate market starts and sales can now be found at the CMHC’s website. According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) second quarter Housing Market Outlook, Canada Edition, we are doing just fine.
Expect a moderation and a slight increase on the home prices this year:
“The recent increase in the average MLS® price reflected strong sales in Vancouver’s property resale market. For the remainder of 2011, we expect the average MLS® price to moderate. Nevertheless, the average MLS® price will experience an overall increase this year. As the existing home market moves to more balanced markets in 2012, growth in the average MLS®price in 2012 is expected to be more modest than in 2011.”
So, that’s great news for the country. Let’s check out now how our local market is doing. Stay tuned.
Posted By: Deya Bautista - Real Estate Broker working as part of the McGill Immobilier team. Specializing in condos and revenue property in the metropolitan area of Montreal. For buying or selling contact Deya at: 514.917.7889
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