Earlier this month, the office of Canada's banking regulator released its final changes for residential mortgage guidelines.

These changes are aimed at taking some of the risk out of the market, including a new stress test for buyers who don’t need mortgage insurance.

These new rules are building off of the changes that came into effect in 2016. The 2016 rules affected those who couldn't come up with twenty percent down. These new rules now have some changes for those who can come up with the down payment.

"Really now what they're doing is they are also putting those parameters on the person that can come up with twenty percent down," explained Golden West Financial Expert Aaron Ruston.

"But they're saying that's wonderful, but we want you to qualify not only at your normal contracted rate, but we also want to see if you qualify at your contracted rate plus two percent or Canada's benchmark rate, which is at about 4.8 percent now."

The new stress test coming in will also try to keep those getting mortgage loans safe from any changes in the market.

"Well, what they're going to do is they're going to run your debt to equity ratio. So, you know, what other assets do you have and what type of debt do you have," Ruston explained.

"They want to see the security of your income, how long have you been working, where you've been working. They want to make sure your debt servicing ratio is on as well, so that your payments aren't so high that you're using up everything that you're bringing in."

Ruston also said that they will take your mortgage at a certain percent, and they'll add an extra two percent to see if you'll be able to qualify with that higher interest rate.

Other changes outlined in the new regulations include restrictions on co-lending, or bundled mortgages — in which federally regulated lenders pair up with unregulated providers to finance a property — aimed at ensuring financial institutions do not circumvent rules that limit how much they can lend.

Federally-regulated financial institutions must also establish and adhere to loan-to-value ratio limits that are updated as housing markets and economic dynamics evolve.

There is also the question of how will this affect many those who have considered getting mortgages.

Ruston believes that more people may consider renting and staying in their rental properties longer, which is good for renters, but can be harder on the housing market.

The economy has been growing, but this change could cause many to rethink their mortgages and possibly downsize.

Downsizing normally isn't a problem but if more people choose to do so then it could cause a drop in property value.

Some good that could come from these changes, as it could protect people from a rise in interest rate and try to stop some of the rapid upward climb in property value.

These new rules are coming into affect on January 1st, 2018.