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New federal mortgage rules aimed at reining in runaway house prices in Toronto and Vancouver are likely to dampen real estate markets nationwide — including Edmonton — industry players fear.

The new rules, announced Monday by federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau, apply to all residential mortgage lenders and are slated to come into effect Oct. 17.

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Mortgage brokers say the changes, announced with little industry consultation, could have the biggest impact on the low end of the housing market, where first-time buyers often struggle to save for a down payment and qualify for a mortgage.

The new rules will make it tougher for would-be buyers to obtain a mortgage by boosting the minimum household income needed to qualify, they say.

“Not only are these initiatives intended to close loopholes for foreign investors, which might help to make housing more affordable,” Sherry Cooper, chief economist at Dominion Lending Centres, said in a statement, “but they will actually make home ownership less attainable for the marginal borrower, which is often younger Canadian first-time home buyers.”

Cooper’s concerns are echoed by Mike Cameron, president of Sherwood Park-based Axiom Mortgage Partners and a director of Mortgage Professionals Canada, which represents the industry’s brokers.