What Will Be The Move For B.C’s Next Government About Its Hot Real Estate Market?
From a single Google search on Canadian real estate market, you get results like “why Canada’s politicians won’t do what it takes on housing market”; to CBC: politicians meddle with real estate – but would Canadians tolerate intervention in other market?”; and the Globe and Mail, “how to fix Canada’s red-hot housing markets: a guide to what’s happening, what’s been proposed and what buyers can do”.
It is quite obvious Canadians want to know what our next provincial government is going to do about the hot B.C. real estate market.
The GREEN PARTY.
Green party leader Weaver and PhD holder in applied mathematics from the university of British Columbia, unveiled in April an affordable housing platform “designed to cool the residential real estate market, increase the supply of affordable accommodation and give the middle class a chance at home ownership” as reported by the Vancouver Sun.
Weaver intends to do that by doubling the foreign buyers’ tax on B.C. real estate from its current 15 per cent to 30 per cent throughout the entire province. In order to justify his motivations, he said that this tax is “not biased against any country”, but, rather, ensures that people who live and work in B.C. can afford it.
The party also wants to introduce a sliding property transfer tax that would be based on the value of the property.
The NDP PARTY
David Eby, a lawyer and member of the legislative assembly of British Columbia is not very happy about his opposing parties’ views.
Eby pointed out that the introduction of the new tax doesn’t affect anyone who is in the market already. That’s why NDP has proposed a Housing Affordability Fund as well as a Speculator Fee Act. It’s effect is simple: despite the length of time a property has already been owned by a foreign national, if they didn’t pay taxes in B.C. on their income, they would be accountable to a retroactive foreign buyer tax of two per cent on the assessed value and this would extend to condo pre-sales.
The B.C. LIBERALS
Their campaigns have focused more on promises of high-paying jobs in technology and less on the real estate market itself. Expressing interests on streamlining building regulations, the Liberals’ are focused on wooing developers to build more multi-family dwellings at an increased pace. The party has promised $920 million which will go to the creation of over 5000 new affordable rental units for most financially destitute.
