Evan Siddall criticized the real estate market's lobbying for "longer amorts and a weaker stress test"
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation CEO Evan Siddall lashed out at real estate industry critics that took issue with his recently leaked letter, saying that “vested interests are strongest right before the fall.”
Siddall decried the housing industry’s attempts to cast him in the role of antagonist to home ownership.
The letter, which was addressed to Canadian lenders, called for improvements in risk mitigation by implementing tighter controls on lending to highly leveraged borrowers.
In two Aug. 17 tweets, Siddall condemned the industry responses, some of which bordered on vitriolic, to what was supposedly private correspondence.
Siddall’s reference to Reckless Endangerment was meant to draw attention to what he sees as the current pressing problem in Canadian housing, according to Better Dwelling.
My private letter of last week was leaked and then twisted and misrepresented by multiple real estate commentators, funded by fees gained from increasing house prices. They lobby for longer amorts and a weaker stress test. Vested interests are strongest right before the fall.
— Evan Siddall (@ewsiddall) August 17, 2020
“Reckless Endangerment is an investigation into how watchdogs tasked with protecting homebuyers, actually exploited them,” Better Dwelling said. “The book alleges the US central bank colluded with regulators, and lenders to pump home prices higher. Through a series of stimulus measures at the wrong time, they all made out like bandits. In the process, all of these organizations fostered a ‘see no bubble’ mentality.”
