Mortgage changes will give extra incentive to build homes faster: Freeland – National [Video]

The Liberal government’s latest efforts to make it easier for young Canadians to buy a home will also help fix the housing supply crunch, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland argued Tuesday.

The deputy prime minister spoke to reporters about last week’s announcement that Ottawa would make 30-year mortgage amortizations available on all new builds and for all first-time buyers, as well as proposals to raise the price cap on insured mortgages to $1.5 million, up from the current $1 million.

The moves have been positioned as a way to make it easier for Canadians who are boxed out of the ownership market to qualify for a mortgage and to reduce the size of their monthly payments.

Freeland reiterated Tuesday that the Liberal government is trying to give extra support to young Canadians and those struggling with unaffordable housing with borrowing costs and home prices still holding high.

“It is absolutely essential that the dream of homeownership be a reality …