[URBAN NOTE] "Ottawa tightens mortgage requirements and targets foreign money"

[rfmcdonald]

CBC News' Pete Evans wrote about Canada's new tighter restriction on foreign ownership, including regulations intended to require residency. Is it too late?

Ottawa has announced new rules aimed at limiting foreign money into Canadian real estate and ensuring that borrowers take on mortgages they can afford.

"Overall, I believe the housing market is sound, but as minister of finance, I want to make sure we are proactive in assessing and addressing the factors that could lead to excess risk," Finance Minister Bill Morneau said in making the announcement Monday in Toronto.

Reality check: Can a foreign buyer tax cool the housing market without hurting it?
They include a move to close a loophole in the tax laws that allows non-residents to buy homes in Canada, and then get a tax exemption to avoid paying capital gains when they sell the home by claiming it as a principal residence.

Starting now, "an individual who was not a resident in Canada in the year the individual acquired a residence will not be able to claim the exemption for that year," Morneau said.