Home sales may slow

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty may have taken the steam out of an overheating national housing market.

Flaherty's tightened mortgage rules Tuesday are unlikely to make it more difficult to get a mortgage but it could reduce the size of the mortgage an individual can negotiate with a lender.

"The changes announced today will impact the experience Canadians have when they go into banks to get loans," said TD bank economist Craig Alexander.

A trend to forcing consumers to look at less expensive properties could end up softening the sharp year-over-year price increases that have been characteristic in many cities. In December, the average selling price of homes jumped 20 per cent compared to a year earlier. Investors also will have to put up 20 per cent of the purchase price instead of five per cent.

(Source: Vancouver Province)