Demand for CMHC's multi-unit mortgage insurance skyrocketed 28.7% last year. Borrowers and lenders have increasingly relied on it to buy, build or refinance multi-unit rental properties. Unlike uninsured mortgages, CMHC multi-unit financing allows: * lower down payments * lower interest expense (lower rates) * easier debt servicing, thanks to stretched-out

💡See also: Mortgage Tidbits below. Fresh numbers suggest that more buyers may finally catch a break: * National benchmark home prices are 18% off their peak * Weekly paycheques have climbed 18% in 48 months * Mortgage insurance rules are their loosest in years, and * Mortgage rates are flirting with three-year lows. Mortgage

CMHC says Canada built 30,000 fewer homes last year thanks to lofty borrowing costs. Turns out, steep rates caused small-fry investors, who account for about half of condo construction funding, to run for the hills faster than Sean "Diddy" Combs from a truth-telling contest. This spells trouble