"I think that there are opportunities where we could maybe ease some restrictions"
With the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) soon ending its public consultation on whether to introduce additional requirements for prospective borrowers (including further loan-to-income and debt-service coverage restrictions), Jason Kennedy of Marathon Mortgage said that policy makers would do well to consider the ongoing impact of the Canadian housing affordability crisis.
In the current environment, “I think that there are opportunities where we could maybe ease some restrictions — and it’s not necessarily in implementing new rules or recreating the wheel, so to speak,” Kennedy told Canadian Mortgage Professional.
Policy should aim to ensure market sustainability by improving Canadians’ access to housing, particularly in red-hot markets, Kennedy said.
“I think it would be potentially beneficial to increase the amount of mortgage, especially in certain regions – the Greater Toronto Area and the Greater Vancouver Area stand out,” Kennedy proposed.
“I think we could actually allow an increased value” particularly for transactions valued above a million dollars, he added. “I would also like to see a little bit of easing on [gross debt service] restrictions.”
Kennedy said that policy makers should consider dialling back some of the changes they implemented over the past few years.
“These things aren’t inherently new; rather, these are something to revert back [towards] … because it is becoming ever so difficult to enter the market,” he said.
For more exec insights on the challenges surrounding the current market, click here.
