Recent legislation providing for an additional Property Transfer Tax of 15% on residential property transfers to foreign entities in the Greater Vancouver Regional District has caught the real estate industry off guard. The retroactive tax which will be applied to contracts completing from 2 August 2016, has inadvertently affected skilled workers and those who are in the process of immigrating to Canada. Calls to exempt accepted agreements have been ignored by the government. Dan Morrison, … [Read more...] about Additional 15% Property Transfer Tax for foreign entities
Metro Vancouver homes sales resembled more typical levels in July
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in the region totalled 3,226 in July 2016, a decrease of 18.9 per cent from the 3,978 sales recorded in July 2015 and a decrease of 26.7 per cent compared to June 2016 when 4,400 homes sold. This is the first time since January that home sales in the region have registered below 4,000 in a month. “After several months of record-breaking sales activity, home buyer demand returned to more historically … [Read more...] about Metro Vancouver homes sales resembled more typical levels in July
End of self-regulation in the real estate industry
The real estate industry has certainly been in the spotlight lately. The much awaited Final Report of the Independent Advisory Group was published last week. The next day the BC Government announced their intention to end self-regulation in the real estate industry and to establish a dedicated Superintendent of Real Estate. Statements by REBGV, RECBC, and BCREA fully support this change in order to restore public confidence in the industry. There is also an initiative taking place to … [Read more...] about End of self-regulation in the real estate industry
Home buyers remain active across Metro Vancouver
Home buyers continue to compete for homes listed for sale across the Metro Vancouver housing market. Residential property sales in the region totalled 4,400 in June 2016, an increase of 0.6 per cent from the 4,375 sales recorded in June 2015 and a decrease of 7.7 per cent compared to May 2016 when 4,769 homes sold. Last month’s sales were 28.1 per cent above the 10-year sales average for the month and rank as the highest selling June on record. "While we're starting to see more … [Read more...] about Home buyers remain active across Metro Vancouver