Liberals' mortgage plan to have tiny effect on housing prices: CMHC

OTTAWA -- Canada's housing agency says new spending measures aimed at helping first-time buyers afford homes won't push prices up more than a few tenths of a percentage point. A report Thursday from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. estimates prices could go up between 0.2 per cent and 0.4 per cent -- a tiny bump relative to other ideas the Liberals were pressed to enact to make homes more affordable. The agency says loosening the mortgage-insurance stress test or allowing longer mortgages w