This morning Jim Flaherty announced 3 regulation changes engineered to mitigate household debt levels in Canada. With mortgage delay payments up 50% & household debt identified by the IMF as the #1 risk to the Canadian economy, the following changes will take effect on March 18th, 2011:

1.   Max amortization shortened from 35 to 30 years.
2.   The max Canadians can borrow to refinance their mortgages will be lowered from 90% to 85%
3.   The government will no longer insure secured lines of credit.

Shortening the maximum amortization from 35 to 30 years has the immediate effect of eroding purchasing power by 7.5%. Under the current regulations, someone making $60,000 with no debts would qualify for $508,000.* With the new rules, that same person would only qualify for $470,000 -- a reduction of roughly $38,000.*

*assuming no property taxes, no heat costs, 3.89% 5 year fixed, no GDS & TDS of 44.

This article was contributed by Ryan Zupan, Mortgage Planner with The Mortgage Centre - City Wide.

To get pre-approved or talk about your mortgage needs contact Ryan at:

p| 604.250.6122
e|  zupan.r@mortgagecentre.com
w| www.ryanzupan.com