CMHC Updated Qualifying Rules: Why this is a non-event (for now).

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As  you have no doubt heard, CMHC recently updated its qualifying guidelines for default insured mortgages. The news caused quite a stir in the mortgage and real estate markets, with panicked would-be buyers rushing to get pre-approved and make an offer on a home before the July 1 deadline.

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As it turns out, in effect there were no changes to broader qualifying requirements at all.

There are three default insurers in Canada. CMHC is the largest one, and is owned by the Federal Government. The other two are privately owned Genworth and Canada Guaranty. Both of these private insurers confirmed to the market they were NOT updating any of their qualifying criteria.

What this means is, there effectively has been NO CHANGE to quaifying criteria.

While we do expect to see Genworth and CG quietly update their internal guidelines, or adhere to them more strictly, there is no blanket change to credit score, down payment, or debt service ratio requirements.

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