Bank of Canada lowers qualifying rate used in mortgage stress tests

OTTAWA - The Bank of Canada has lowered the rate used by mortgage stress tests to determine whether would-be homeowners can qualify, marking the first drop in three years.

The central bank's five-year benchmark qualifying rate is now 5.19 per cent, down from 5.34 per cent. It's the first decrease in the five-year fixed mortgage rate since September 2016, when it dropped from 4.74 per cent to 4.64 per cent, and increased steadily since.

The qualifying rate is used in stress tests for both insured and uninsured mortgages, and a lower rate means it is easier for borrowers to qualify.

"This 15 basis point drop in the qualifying rate will not turn the housing market around in the hardest-hit regions, but it will be an incremental positive psychological boost for buyers," said Sherry Cooper, chief economist for Dominion Lending Centres in a statement. "It should also counter, in some small part, what's been the slowest lending growth in five years."

Home sales softened last year after the federal government introduced new stress test rules for uninsured mortgages, or those with a down payment of more than 20 per cent, and mortgage rates inched higher.

These stress tests require potential homebuyers to show they would still be able to make mortgage payments if faced with higher interest rates or less income. The Bank of Canada's five-year benchmark rate is calculated using the posted rates at the Big Six Banks.