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Global investment banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and UBS Group AG are renewing efforts to gauge investor interest in Chinese developer bond sales, in hopes of revitalizing a key business following a yearlong deal drought.
UK property surveyors said the housing market settled further into hibernation in January as buyer inquiries, agreed sales and new instructions to sell all fell again.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut hundreds of mortgage employees this week, adding to job losses across the industry as home-lending businesses continue to be hurt by elevated interest rates.
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont unveiled a $50.5 billion biennial budget that would cut income taxes on families making up to $100,000 per year, as well as have the state borrow $600 million for new housing.
Bank of Canada officials debated holding rates or hiking by another quarter percentage point at their January decision, according to a summary of their deliberations.
May 19, 2020
, Bloomberg News
Canada’s federal housing agency is considering scaling back mortgage underwriting practices to limit excessive borrowing due to the threat of significant declines in real estate prices and rising debt levels.
The combination of higher mortgage debt, declining property prices and increased unemployment is “cause for concern for Canada’s longer-term financial stability,” Evan Siddall, chief executive officer at Canada Mortgage & Housing Corp., said Tuesday in remarks prepared for an appearance before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance in Ottawa. One fifth of all mortgages could be in arrears if the country’s economy hasn’t sufficiently recovered, he said.
“If there is an insurance claim, CMHC will be called upon to cover these losses,” Siddall said in the statement. “We are therefore evaluating whether we should change our underwriting policies in light of these market conditions.”
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Canada is grappling with a dual shock of shutdowns from the pandemic and collapsing oil prices, and has already shed 3 million jobs since March. The economy probably shrank by 42 per cent annualized in the second quarter, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey.
Siddall said the agency feels the need to avoid exposing young people, as well as taxpayers, to “amplified losses” from falling home values. CMHC forecasts decline in average house prices of nine per cent to 18 per cent over next 12 months, he said.
A first-time home buyer with a five per cent down payment faces potential losses of $45,000 on a $300,000 home that falls in price by 10 per cent, Siddall said. In comparison, a 10 per cent down payment offers more of a cushion against possible losses.
Other highlights from Siddall’s remarks:
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