Some mortgage applicants with high debt loads got an unpleasant surprise last week.
They submitted their applications for variable-rate mortgages, were told they qualify, and then the Bank of Canada hiked rates, by a startling one percentage point.
Lenders quickly increased their prime rates by the same amount.
Mortgage default insurers saw this, and decided that new borrowers should prove they could afford a much higher “stress test” rate, even if rates were lower at the time they applied.
That led to some lender approvals being overturned, triggering outrage from affected homebuyers and mortgage professionals.
On Tuesday, this country’s…