BoC official warns against adjusting mortgage rules to make housing affordable [Video]

The Bank of Canada’s senior deputy governor is warning against adjusting mortgage rules to try to make the prospect of home ownership more affordable.

Carolyn Rogers is delivering a speech today on the mortgage market to the Economic Club of Canada in Toronto.

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“We need to resist the temptation to try to solve the housing affordability challenge by tinkering too much with the mortgage market,” Rogers said in her prepared remarks.

The central bank official says improving housing affordability ultimately requires reaching a balance between supply and demand, which she says will take time.

“In the meantime, leaning too much on measures that reduce the short-term cost of financing could have long-term impacts to the financial health of households, the market and the economy,” Rogers said.

The federal government recently announced it will increase the maximum amortization period for first-time homebuyers and buyers of new builds from 25 years to …