April 1 will be the beginning of the end of the real estate bubble, you mark my words. No judgment on the OP, but there are so many people who just scratched out the 5% to get a new home back during the glory days. They used credit card cheque transfers, etc...
With a 20% down payment requirement, I am willing to bet 25% of the market will disappear instantly - That is, 1/4 of the people actively looking at buying a $600,000 home will no longer be able to afford it.
This is going to have a profound, lasting and very necessary impact on the housing market.
I am a free-market proponent, but the Canadian (global? North American?) real estate market has shown me that many of my adult peers cannot properly plan their finances, so I hardily approve of a gov't mandated 20% unborrowed DP.
A little pain coming to the market soon, for sure, but man alive is it better than letting things get further out of hand.
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