The new policy is clearly aimed at Vancouver and Toronto. Earlier this year, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, the average price for a single-family detached home reached $1.47 million in Vancouver. In Toronto, a single-family detached home reached $1.017 million. However, condos are more in demand, and with those figured in, Toronto’s average home price is closer to $602,607. Policymakers in Ottawa worry that boosting requirements on homes that cost less than $500,000 will negatively impact housing markets that show signs of cooling. A good example of cooling is in Alberta, where dropping oil prices are threatening home prices. Interestingly, though, there is speculation that the impacts of the new Canadian down payment rules won’t be as widespread as expected. An analyst at CIBC World Markets told The Star that only about 5% of homebuyers in Toronto would be affected and only 2.5% in Vancouver would see the impact. In fact, expectations are that perhaps 10% of first-time homebuyers in Calgary are likely to be affected because of the realities of the situation. There are more cash-rich buyers in Vancouver and Toronto who don’t rely on mortgages for their purchases, while first-time buyers in Calgary are more likely to use financing. However, home prices have been sliding in Calgary, so they are slipping below the threshold. Even with all the press, though, some analysts don’t think that the move will slow down the housing markets Vancouver and Toronto that much – at least not at first. In fact, some believe that there could be a rush to buy now, before the requirements kick in during February 2016. Another thing to consider is that all of the changes made so far haven’t stopped the Canadian housing market from growing in the last seven years, so this latest effort might not change too much, either.