To The Pointwith Boris Bozic
Commentary, Opinions, Thoughts and Discussion on Current Events, Politics and The Mortgage Industry
As I mentioned in my last blog, the purpose of my visit to Mexico last week was to attend the TMG conference. I was asked to take part on a lender panel, where I and a number of my esteemed lender colleagues, would answer questions about our industry. A question that was put forth to me was, “do I believe that regulators would make further changes to mortgage rules in 2013?” My crystal ball was a little foggy that morning, it could have been the tequila, so I applied reasoning when answering. I answered, “no “. No one can say with absolute certainty what the government may or may not do. But today’s reality leads me to believe that any further changes to mortgage rules may create unintended consequences, which could result in harming our economy even further. My view is that of CAAMP’S, the most recent changes to mortgages rules may have over reached. If the most recent changes to mortgage rules was intended to slow down home sales, then one would have to say mission accomplished. Due to all the changes to mortgage rules over the last three years all of us are feeling an impact in some form or another. This is the new norm, and time will tell if regulators went too far this time. So, I’m less concerned about further changes to mortgage rules in the immediate future than I am about rhetoric.
There’s a good article in the Globe and Mail about what could possibly happen to the Canadian housing market when you cry wolf enough times. Consumer psyche is a fragile thing. If people in authority, and those supposedly in the know, say it often enough consumers will deem it to be so. Good evidence of this came from the most recent Maritz survey on behalf of CAAMP. Over sixty per cent of the general population believe Canadians have taken on too much debt. Yet close to seventy per cent of the respondents do not believe it applies to them. So how did they come to formulate this opinion? Did they conduct a survey in their neighborhood? Are they all qualified economists? They form their opinion based on headlines, and those that are responsible for fanning the flames. It’s the rhetoric that I’m most concerned about now. The mind is a powerful thing, and those in sales know how import their psyche is when it comes to success and failure. Never would I suggest to ignore the facts as it relates to business. That’s suicide. Those of us in the industry can separate facts from hyperbole. But does the consumer do the same? Of course not. They’ll form their opinion on sound bites and snippets of information. Thus my concern about rhetoric, especially coming from those who have fallen in love with the sound of their own voice.
Here’s the link to the Globe and Mail article, it’s a good read.
Until next time,
Cheers.
Daryl Harris, AMP @wpgsbestmtg Website