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Why Relaxing the Mortgage Stress Test Won't Impact Toronto (Too) Much

John Pasalis, President of Realosophy Realty, joins BNN Bloomberg to discuss needed changes to Canada's mortgage stress tests - and why it is unlikely to make a big impact on the market in Toronto.

Today, Realosophy's John Pasalis met with BNN Bloomberg to discuss the change in policy that will base stress tests - the amount of mortgage that home buyers will qualify for - on more current market dynamics, adding (slightly more) money to the average home buyer budget.

This change, which today applies to the relatively smaller segment of insured mortgages (for buyers who put down less than 20% of  downpayment on a home) may soon expand across the market.

However, as John explains, this stress test will not likely have as big an impact in markets like Toronto, which is already experiencing strong demand and where only a few buyers will rely on this change.

And stress tests have little to do with the key data stories in Toronto real estate right now - like a quickly heating condo sector.

Click on video below to watch full interview. Read full story here. 

John Pasalis is President of Realosophy Realty, a Toronto real estate brokerage which uses data analysis to advise residential real estate buyers, sellers and investors.

A specialist in real estate data analysis, John’s research focuses on unlocking micro trends in the Greater Toronto Area real estate market. His research has been utilized by the Bank of Canada, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Follow John on Twitter @johnpasalis

Email John

Editor's Note: Earlier today, an out-of-date (now deleted) post titled "Latest Canadian Real Estate Data - A Tale of Many Cities" erroneously appeared in this space on MoveSmartly.com (and temporarily on our social media networks) - we apologize for this error.

Published: February 20, 2020
John Pasalis
John Pasalis - John Pasalis is the founder and President of Move Smartly, a Toronto real estate brokerage that helps buyers, sellers and investors navigate the Greater Toronto Area housing market. A frequent commentator on Toronto real estate, John has contributed to the Globe and Mail, BNN Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal, and his work has been cited by the Bank of Canada, the IMF and CMHC.

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