New rules come into effect today in Canada for mortgages and a spokesperson for the Winnipeg Realtors' Association expects it will affect some buyers in markets like Steinbach. Under the changes, a stress test will now be

used for all home buyers with less than a 20 per cent down payment. Peter Squire says that means borrowers must be able to qualify for their mortgage using a higher interest rate than they will actually be paying on their mortgage.

"For first-time buyers who had their hearts set on a certain price range that they were qualified for, as of October 17th, they'll have to adjust that price range they're looking at. So, it's definitely going to have an impact on some buyers who, again, had their hearts set on a certain price that they will no longer qualify for."

Squire notes a number of people don't go to their upper limit when pursuing a first mortgage and those folks won't see as much impact from the change.

"But there's no question that a number of Canadians including those shopping in Steinbach may well be impacted by this new rule."

The federal government introduced the changes to make sure that home buyers are able to withstand increases in interest rates that are expected in the coming years.