Real Estate News

Changes to the proposed B.C. speculation tax , announced by finance minister Carole James yesterday following a backlash from owners, have been broadly welcomed – but do not go far enough, according to industry groups.

A decline in Toronto’s rental prices may have put Vancouver back on top as Canada’s priciest city for one-bedroom rents, but prices have declined in all the top five most expensive rental cities.

Under changes to the proposed speculation tax, B.C. residents will now only have to pay 0.5 per cent a year on second homes valued at $400,000 or above, finance minister Carole James announced in a media conference March 26. The tax will apply to B.

The B.C. NDP government is responding to the backlash from B.C. home owners against the speculation tax, and will have an update on its details within days, Premier John Horgan announced March 21.

After years of Metro Vancouver leading the country in terms of soaring detached home sales, the recent softening of that market has paved the way for a boom in Montréal, according to a report published March 21.

Canada is a hugely diverse country – and so are its real estate markets. The Lower Mainland and Greater Toronto are notoriously expensive, while some areas are still extremely affordable – even if you’re on a single-person income.

Having a lodger living in the spare bedroom is a phenomenon that I am very familiar with, having grown up in the U.K. where such arrangements are common.

The City of Richmond last week passed the 2017-2027 Affordable Housing Strategy at a city council meeting. The city has set a target of an additional 50 low-rent units per year, and the annual collection of $1.

If you dream of owning a spacious detached home on a large lot, it can be yours for a fraction of the cost of those in Metro Vancouver and the capital region, according to a new report by the B.C. Northern Real Estate Board.

Both West Kelowna and now the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) have asked the B.C. government not to impose the new speculation tax in their regions, with the latter saying that “in its current form, [the tax] should be eliminated.