Category Economics

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has announced the launch of its latest multi-unit mortgage loan insurance product, MLI SELECT.

This new product is designed to incentivize the preservation and creation of rental supply, as well as address the need for affordable and accessible housing that adheres to climate-conscious engineering principles.

The incentives will be available for both new projects and existing properties, CMHC added.

“As Canada’s only provider of multi-unit mortgage insurance for residential properties, we believe that MLI SELECT will be a critical component to achieving better housing outcomes for renter households,” said Romy Bowers, president and CEO of CMHC. “Increasing rental supply and preserving existing rental stock will offer more affordable options for renters, including those in core housing need, getting us closer to our aspiration of, by 2030, everyone in Canada has a home they can afford and that meets their needs.”

There are “encouraging” signs for the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) housing market in RE/MAX Canada’s just-released Quarter Century Market Report, the company’s president has said, not least that market fundamentals appeared “very strong” during that 25-year stretch.

Christopher Alexander (pictured top) told Canadian Mortgage Professional that the average yearly price appreciation of just over 7% during that period was similar to that of the previous quarter-century, a development that suggested a strong and robust GTA market.

“I find that very interesting because 7% is the best you can hope for as far as an overall market health appreciation number. Once you get over that 7% mark, you’re into pretty strong upward pressure, and then people get concerned about longevity,” he said.

The total value of outstanding residential mortgages in Canada continues to grow, according to the national statistics agency.

Uninsured residential mortgage volume held by chartered banks grew by 39.6% on a quarterly basis in Q3, while the value of insured mortgages with these institutions ticked down by 3.6% during the same period, Statistics Canada said.

Meanwhile, Canadian non-bank mortgage lenders saw the total value of their mortgages go up by 1.1% quarterly, with the volume of outstanding mortgages rising in seven of the past 10 quarters.

“This was driven by the growth in outstanding uninsured mortgages: from the second quarter of 2019 to the third quarter of 2021, the value and the number of uninsured mortgages grew in most quarters, increasing by a total of 19.6% and 8.6%, respectively,” StatCan reported. “In contrast, the value and number of outstanding insured mortgages decreased in most quarters during that same period, and declined by a total of 8.2% and 10.7%, respectively.”