Thank you, Mr. Chair
Thank you to the witnesses for coming today.
The purchase of a home is the most important purchase that any Canadian citizen will make. I still hear stories about how my parents saved and saved and bought their first home in Brampton. They also complained about the double-digit interest rates they were paying in the housing market in the early 1990s, and the concerns they had back then.
The housing market in my neck of the woods doesn't come up in conversation on a regular basis, except for mention of how hot it is and how there's a shortage of supply that's driving up the price of homes and how people are concerned about that. Even for people who have paid off their mortgages, their house is still their number one asset, and they're still concerned about the overall housing market. They don't want what happened in 2008 in the United States to happen in Canada.
My question is on appraisals, because I've been hearing feedback, and you're the only witness who has brought up the concern of mortgage fraud—this comes through the appraisals as well. Homes are being appraised at over value so that people will qualify for a larger mortgage. Couple that with mortgage fraud and you're stretching yourself. You're very leveraged, and I feel that is the biggest concern in the market and it's not visible.
Your comments on that would be really appreciated.