'Smoke and mirrors:' Calgarians underwhelmed by national mortgage change
CBC
A change to Canada's mortgages aimed at spurring development and driving down payments is falling flat in some Calgary real estate circles.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced Thursday the 2024 federal budget will include extending the mortgage amortization limit on insured mortgages from 25 to 30 years.
But only first-time buyers purchasing newly built homes are eligible for the longer mortgage periods.
"It's going to impact so few people that it's basically all smoke and mirrors," said Jim Sparrow, a long-time, recently retired Calgary realtor.
"It sounds great, but when you think about it, there just aren't that many people that can put $50,000 down and buy a brand new home if they're a first-time buyer."
In March, Calgary's residential benchmark price was up 10.9 per cent from the previous year to $597,600 according to the Calgary Real Estate Board.
Housing inventory levels plummeted nearly 22 per cent in that same time, the CREB data also shows.
Jill Muirhead is finishing the paperwork and approvals for her first home in south Calgary.
It was built in 1971.
"The new builds honestly weren't even in the price range," she said.
"When we first started looking, we're like, 'Oh, our finances were pretty good' and we were like, 'Oh, we have a lot of options.'"
"But we saw as the weeks passed, there weren't many houses on the market and then the ones that were in our price range were … becoming more and more expensive."
Muirhead said she eventually found a home she was happy with.
Calgary real estate agent Brandy Rigel says about half of her clients are first-time buyers, and most have a tough time house hunting.
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This story is part of Welcome to Canada, a CBC News series about immigration told through the eyes of the people who have experienced it.
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