Wednesday 7 March 2018

How Canada’s Mortgage Stress Test Affects You


You’ve heard about the changes to mortgage rules. Now we explain what it means for prospective Options For Homes purchasers.


As Canadians ushered in 2018 with cheer and hopeful resolutions, the federal government rang in the New Year with a resolution of its own: to protect Canadians from amassing too much household debt. And so, the requirement for potential homebuyers to pass a mortgage stress test was announced.

The measure, which requires people to qualify for a mortgage at the current rate plus 2%, came amid a climate of record personal debt, overheated housing markets, and the return of increasing interest rates. The purpose is to ensure that those buying a home have the financial bandwidth to withstand interest rate hikes, something homeowners have been spared for nearly a decade.

The effect, however, is that your purchasing power – meaning the amount that can be borrowed for a mortgage – has been reduced. Told another way, it means that households now need a higher income to qualify for the same mortgage amount they would have qualified for before the new rules.


So what does this all mean for prospective Options for Homes purchasers, especially those who might be taking the Down Payment Loan (DPL)? We busted out the calculator and crunched some hypothetical numbers to help paint a clearer picture for you.

Let’s assume you’re looking at a small unit with a purchase price of $300,000. You’ve got a 5% down payment and are taking the Options DPL of 15%*. How much of a mortgage do you need?

Purchase Price: $300,000
5% down payment: $15,000
15%* Options DPL: $45,000
Mortgage required: $240,000

In the past, this size of a mortgage could be secured on a household income of roughly $56,000. Today, you’d need about $63,500. Of course, this wouldn’t affect the actual price of the unit, carrying costs, maintenance fees and taxes. It just means that the government wants to ensure you’re not so close to your financial limit that you couldn’t afford your mortgage if anything changed.

What does this look like if you’re hoping to purchase a larger, family-sized unit? Let’s assume a two-bedroom plus den was available for around $500,000. You’ve got a 5% down payment and are taking the Options DPL of 15%*. How much of a mortgage do you need?

Purchase Price: $500,000
5% down payment: $25,000
15%* Options DPL: $75,000
Mortgage required: $400,000

In the past, this size of a mortgage could be secured on a household income of roughly $93,000. Today, you’d need about $107,000.

While the stress test might seem like a bad thing, in fact, it’s a good way to make sure you can really afford the home you want to buy. Even without a mandated stress test, prudent homebuyers leave room in their finances to prepare themselves for fluctuating interest rates, unexpected life events, and inevitable home repair costs. Factoring an extra 2% is a good way to do that.

One interesting detail about the stress test is that credit unions are not currently bound by this requirement. Still, Nick Eddy, Bloor West Village branch manager at Meridian Credit Union, an Options For Homes lending partner, considers the new rule a “common sense lending approach.”

He advises clients looking to purchase a home to use the “rule of thumb” of borrowing no more than four times your annual household income for your mortgage. So if your household income is $80,000, you’d be looking in the $320,000 range. He also encourages people to be realistic. If the stress test suddenly makes securing a mortgage out of reach then “maybe now isn’t the right time for you to purchase and to keep saving,” says Nick.

“While we definitely want to help people realize their dream of homeownership, it’s a case of making sure you’re ready for everything that comes along with homeownership, which includes interest rate fluctuations.”


To make sure you’re ready, Nick recommends these three rock-solid home-buying preparation tips.

Limit the luxuries

“Make sure that you, as an individual, have done a budget for yourself. Do you have to go to Tim Hortons or Starbucks every day? There’s $20 to $50 a week you could save. Do you have to have the best new cell phone? That’s the other thing for people to really consider when they’re looking at buying a house or condo: what don’t you need. Are you willing to go out for dinner or get take out only once a week instead of three?”

Build in a buffer

“I think stress testing is a good thing from a budgeting perspective because people are worried about not being able to afford a property but at the same time, if rates do go up – and rates are rising now where they’ve been historically low for years – you’ve got to be able to comfortably afford to pay for the roof over your head. Adding a buffer is a good idea, even if you’re going through a lender that’s not affected by these changes. When you find a rate that’s average add 1-2% to that and see what that does to your monthly commitments because every five years, maybe the rate increases as do your monthly expenses.”

Prepare for the unpredicted

“Factor in other costs of homeownership. When you rent, your rent includes taxes and other things like repairs that your landlord pays for. When you own, these are costs of homeownership. Then there are things like lifestyle changes – maybe another child comes along or there’s a layoff in the family and you have to support the mortgage payment on one income. You need to be ready for that.”

To discuss your mortgage needs contact Nick Eddy at Nick.Eddy@meridiancu.ca.

*Down Payment Loan percentage is only an estimate. Actual percentage varies by development.

Monday 5 March 2018

Options for Homes named an Affordable Housing Champion by the City of Toronto



Options for Homes (Options) has been delivering affordable homeownership housing for over 24 years, and now we’ve been recognized as an Affordable Housing Champion by the City of Toronto. We couldn’t be prouder! 

On Friday, March 2, the City’s Affordable Housing Committee bestowed 18 companies with a Champion award. Together, the group of honourees represented 1,094 affordable homes in 20 developments across 12 city wards, which will be ready for occupancy between 2018 and 2020. 

Options’ CEO Heather Tremain, who was honoured alongside Paul Connelly, longtime president of the Options Board, said, “I am grateful to work with the amazing team at Options, all of whom are dedicated to making a more vibrant and equitable city. We are honoured to be recognized for the work we do at Options.”

Heather’s commitment to her team was evident when she invited the 10 staff members in the committee chambers to join her and Paul in accepting the award.

Affordable Housing Committee chair and Deputy Mayor Ana Bailão thanked the non-profit and private sector partners in attendance for their dedication to building quality, affordable housing in Toronto, and called on councillors to support their efforts. "It is only through these strong and ongoing partnerships that the City can succeed in providing new affordable rental and ownership housing for Torontonians,” she said.  

As Mayor John Tory congratulated all the honourees, he added that he viewed this as a muted celebration because its celebrating getting back on track and that even the targets set by the city are woefully short of the demand for affordable housing in this city.

“There is still much to do,” said Tory. “I’m very impatient about this. This is the single biggest component in closing the gap between those who are comfortable and those who are struggling.”

The challenge, he said, it to take all the efforts made by this group and scale them up. 

The 18 organizations recognized at the Affordable Housing Committee meeting were: 

• Artscape 
• CollecDev 
• Daniels Corporation 
• Egale Canada Human Rights Trust 
• Habitat for Humanity GTA
• Hines Interests Limited Partnership 
• Humewood House 
• Madison View Homes Inc. 
• Malibu Investments 
• Native Men's Residence 
• Options for Homes 
• Rockport Group 
• St. Clare's Multifaith Housing Society 
• Toronto Community Housing Corporation 
• Tridel 
• Trillium Housing 
• Westbank Corporation 
• WoodGreen Community Services Corporation 

Thursday 18 January 2018

Mayor John Tory welcomes residents to Danforth Village Estates



One of the most gratifying aspects of developing housing is seeing purchasers move into their new homes. In December, everyone at Options for Homes was thrilled to welcome some of the first residents of Danforth Village Estates to their new home with the help of a very special guest – Mayor John Tory.

The Mayor hauled boxes for Mila Corpuz and Mel Peña, who were accompanied by their twin toddlers, ushering the family into their new two-bedroom, plus den before taking a moment to celebrate Options for Homes’ efforts in providing housing opportunities for Torontonians.

“One of the biggest challenges the city faces is making sure that people of all income levels can afford to live in the city, whether in rental accommodation or having the opportunity for homeownership,” said Mayor Tory who was accompanied by deputy mayors Ana Bailão and Glenn de Baeremaeker. “[Homeownership] is something that's important to people and sometimes it just takes a little bit of innovation, a little bit of ingenuity, and people with wonderful ideas like Options for Homes and the cooperation of a lot of partners to make it happen.”

With Danforth Village Estates, Options for Homes was able to deliver 250 new affordable homes and helped those with incomes as low as $28,000 purchase a home through the Options Down Payment Loan. In fact, over 75% of purchasers at Danforth Village Estates have household incomes at or below $70,000.

It’s how the Corpuz-Peña family achieved their homeownership dreams. When Mila and Mel first came to Canada from the Philippines, Mila was the sole income earner while Mel, who has a disability, looked for work. The couple were able to purchase a bachelor unit on Mila’s income, with the help of the city’s Home Ownership Assistance Program (HOAP) and an Options Down Payment Loan. But soon, the couple were expecting twins and Mel found work, so they were hopeful they could purchase a larger unit. As Mila said, “We prayed to God for a two-bedroom. He gave us a two-bedroom, plus den!”

While much of the city’s attention is paid to ensuring there’s an adequate supply of rental housing in Toronto, Mayor Tory acknowledged that partnerships like the one between Options for Homes and Deltera, and support from government (the City of Toronto deferred development costs on 150 units at Danforth Village Estates allowing Options to offer more down payment support), are vital to a healthy housing ecosystem.

“The housing issue is not going to solve itself. It's going to be solved through partnerships like this,” Tory said. “That’s why we’re able to be here today, demonstrating again how [with partnerships] we can achieve real, meaningful progress. So I want to thank the Options for Homes people for being good partners with the City of Toronto so that we can not just build the affordable rental accommodation we end up talking about more, but also making affordable homeownership something that is an option for people here in Toronto.”

See CP24's coverage of the day here: https://www.cp24.com/video?clipId=1287868
Check out what CTV had to say about it here: https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/mobile/video?clipId=1285007