Rajatheertha Construction & Real Estate News Blog

Canada's Mortgage Stress Test Explained in 2026: How It Limits Borrowing and How to Improve Approval Odds Canada | October 26, 2026 A couple in Canada finds a home they want to purchase. They have saved a down payment, have stable employment and receive a mortgage quotation at 4.5% interest. The monthly mortgage payment looks manageable. But when they apply, the lender calculates their affordability using a higher interest rate. Why? Because Canadian federally regulated mortgage lenders generally require borrowers to qualify through a mortgage stress test. For a contract rate of 4.5%, the qualifying rate would be 6.5%. The borrower may pay according to the actual mortgage agreement at 4.5%, but the lender assesses whether the household could support a mortgage payment calculated at 6.5%. That can substantially reduce the maximum mortgage available. The rules apply to both insured and uninsured mortgages in the relevant circumstances, although certain renewal and lender-switching ex...

Canada FHSA vs RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan in 2026: Which Is Better, and Can You Use Both? Canada | October 22, 2026 A couple in Canada wants to purchase its first home. One partner has been contributing to a First Home Savings Account. The other has accumulated savings in a Registered Retirement Savings Plan. They have heard that the FHSA provides a tax deduction and tax-free withdrawals. They also know that the Home Buyers’ Plan allows eligible people to withdraw money from an RRSP without immediate tax. But which program should they use? And can they combine the two? In 2026, eligible first-time home buyers can potentially access $40,000 of FHSA contributions and $60,000 through the RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan per person , assuming they have accumulated the necessary funds and meet the applicable withdrawal rules. For a qualifying couple, that can mean a combined $200,000 before considering investment growth. However, the two programs do not provide identical benefits. The FHSA generally comb...

  Canada Building Permits Jump 8.8% to C$13.6 Billion — But Is Housing Supply Actually Catching Up? Canada | October 16, 2026 Canada has just reported one of its strongest monthly increases in building permits this year, but the headline number hides a much more complicated housing story. The total value of building permits issued across the country rose 8.8% in August to C$13.6 billion , Statistics Canada reported on October 14. Residential construction was responsible for essentially all of that increase. The value of residential permits climbed 15.3% to C$8.47 billion , while non-residential permits were almost unchanged at approximately C$5.1 billion. For a country that has spent years debating a severe housing shortage, those numbers initially sound encouraging. But there is an important catch. The surge was overwhelmingly driven by multi-unit housing such as apartments and condominiums , while single-family construction barely moved. And when the data is viewed over a full ye...