VANCOUVER (Reuters) – The Royal Bank of Canada scrapped an internal limit on mortgage loan size for immigrants in the spring to tap into surging demand for financing on multi-million dollar houses by newcomers to Vancouver.
Wealthy buyers, mostly from China, are fueling a booming mortgage business in Vancouver, where the median price for a detached home on the desirable west side jumped 31 percent to C$2.87 million ($2.19 million) in the last two years.
RBC, Canada’s largest bank, removed its C$1.25 million cap on loans to borrowers with no local credit history in May, said Christine Shisler, the bank’s Director of Multicultural Markets, who works with an immigrant clientele.