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View Full Version : CMHC Announces Fee Increase - Effective April 1, 2015


Mortgage Made Easy
12-17-2014, 09:12 AM
Since 2008, the Finance Department has announced one mortgage restriction after another, largely in an effort to wean lenders from government support. And just when you think there’s no more regulations to come, they tighten further.

On December 1, CMHC announced it is to triple the charges it makes to some financial institutions. The fee increases will be for guaranteeing loans in the mortgage-backed securities market, which the agency operates under the National Housing Act.

Some experts are predicting that the hike in fees will filter down to homebuyers with the likelihood of a few hundred dollars being added to the cost of a mortgage. The fee for mortgages with a five-year maturity will rise from 0.2 per cent to 0.6 per cent.

Taxpayer exposure to government-backed MBS won’t change in any meaningful way. (MBS, by the way, are comprised of insured mortgages that are already government-backed.) So what’s the point?

Perhaps more revenue for our friends in Ottawa?