Vancouver is still the most liveable city in the world, according to the latest annual index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). The Canadian city, which is currently gearing up to host the Winter Olympics, gets 98 points out of 100, the same as last year.

The ranking scores each city from 0-100 on 30 factors spread across five areas: stability, health care, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure. These numbers are then weighted and combined to produce an overall figure.

There are no great changes at the top of the ranking. Vienna, Melbourne and Toronto still occupy second, third and fourth positions behind Vancouver, and the top ten is still dominated by Canadian and Australian cities, which benefit in particular from perfect scores for health care and education.

These rankings are used by employers assigning hardship allowances as part of expatriate relocation packages. So you might be surprised by the position of a city such as Detroit, whose image has been rather battered in recent years. Yet in 40th place, it is considered a more liveable city than both London and New York in 54th and 56th positions. These two cities, which TimeOut ranks as the two “greatest” in the world, are tripped up by their "stability" scores. "Stability" reflects residents’ fear of terror, crime and conflict, and in this respect no city in the top 50 gets within ten points of New York’s score of 70.

Good morning everyone. Today the government announced some interesting new rules with respect to insured lending standards. This is not something that is unexpected, but here are the highlights:

• Mortgage qualification on five year fixed rates regardless of the actual term a borrower is taking
• Maximum refinance of an existing property of up to 90% (down from 95%)
• Minimum 20% downpayment for investment properties

In my view these are all sensible guidelines imposed on the market and should not hamper the market negatively. The above rules affect a very small portion of the overall market. The bigger question is whether this is the first step to more drastic measures down the road.

Changes take affect April 19.

Let me know if you have any questions.

“Home sales in the province eased in January as a result of waning pent-up demand and eroded affordability,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “While low mortgage interest rates will continue to entice many home buyers through the spring market, consumer demand is expected to moderate from its frenetic year-end pace."

The BC residential sales dollar volume increased 160 per cent to $2.27 billion in January compared to the same period last year. The average MLS® residential price climbed 19 per cent to $491,571 over the same period.

"Upward pressure on home prices, particularly in Victoria, Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, is beginning to slow as fewer home sales and a larger inventory reduce the chance of multiple offers,” added Muir.