The new mortgage guidelines of March 18th has led to increased activity in the market and once again sellers are at an advantage to get a premium on pricing compared to just a few weeks ago. Buyers are out there in an attempt to beat the deadline and get their approvals with 35 years amortization. As a word of caution to buyers, if you are in no rush & can afford payments with a 30 years or less amortization then my suggestion would be to wait until April/May of this year. Also to mention, if you are planning to get a conventional mortgage (20% or more down payment) you can continue to avail the 35 year amortization even after the deadline.
This same surge in activity was in 2007 when the new land transfer tax was imposed, HST was announced, when the mortgage lending guidelines changed last year and buyers had to qualify at the posted rates. All these changes resulted in multiple offers to return to the market, which is again what we're seeing now.
