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  1. Canada’s New Housing Plan

    The federal government’s new Housing Plan, announced on April 12, 2024 and supported by Budget 2024, introduced a provision aimed at helping renters build credit by integrating rent payments into credit histories. It proposes amendments to the Mortgage Charter, encouraging collaboration among fintech companies, credit bureaus, and lenders to include rental payment data in credit scores.

    The government calls on these agencies to create an ecosystem where renters can choose to include their rental payment history in their credit scores. It also expects lenders to prioritize comprehensive credit information, including rental payment history, in credit evaluations whenever feasible.
    

    By Joanna Gerber
    08-05-2024

  2. Federal Budget 2024: What are the proposed capital gains tax changes and how might they affect me?

    The capital gains tax inclusion rate – today and tomorrow

    Today, only 50% of the capital gain is taxable (this is known as the capital gains tax inclusion rate). This means that $50,000 of the $100,000 earned from the sale of the cottage in our example is added as income for that tax year.

    Here’s an example:

    • Your regular income, earned from your full-time job, is $75,000

    • You make a $100,000 profit from the sale of your cottage (after you pay real estate fees, closing costs, etc.)

    • 50% of the profit is taxable, which means you add $50,000 to your income during the tax year in which you realized this capital gain

    • $75,000 + $50,000 = a total income for that tax year of $125,000

    The amount of tax you ultimately pay in that year will depend on your tax bracket and its marginal tax rate.
    By Diane Amato
    08-05-2024

  3. Land near SkyTrain hubs is 'ideal' for increasing housing supply and a mix of housing types

    The provincial government is unmoved by a petition by homeowners in Burnaby’s Brentwood Park for an exemption from new legislation that could see up to 12-storey apartments built in their neighbourhood.

    The “Save Brentwood Park” coalition successfully petitioned city council last week with 298 names to lobby the province to make an exception for their neighbourhood of single-family homes which sits within the 800-metre transit-oriented development area for Brentwood Town Centre SkyTrain station.

    The provincial legislation will require cities to allow buildings with minimum heights of eight to 20 storeys within certain distances around “transit-oriented areas” (TOAs) like SkyTrain stations.

    By Lauren Vanderdeen
    06-05-2024

  4. Underused Housing Tax not right for tourism economies

    A Whistler realtor made the trek to Ottawa recently to formally request the Government of Canada consider an exemption for Whistler in the application of the federal Underused Housing Tax (UHT) on properties zoned for tourism accommodation.

    Dave Brown, who was speaking on behalf of the Whistler Real Estate Co. and Tourism Whistler, said at the April 18 finance committee meeting in Ottawa the UHT is driving foreign investors away from Whistler—and the result is not more housing for locals, but less revenue for Whistler, the community, and Canada overall.

    The UHT is designed to levy a tax on foreign property owners who do not make their property adequately available for housing. According to Brown, its application to parts of Whistler zoned for tourism accommodation means foreign owners who let their properties be used for tourism accommodation for most of the year may instead sell to Canadians for use as second homes, removing them from the tourist accommodation pool.
    By Scott Tibballs
    06-05-2024

  5. The two low-rise buildings, a high-rise tower planned for 2050-2070 Marine Drive in North Vancouver up for sale

    One of the larger ongoing development projects on the North Shore is the subject of foreclosure proceedings as a result of a substantial amount of debt and has now been listed for sale, according to filings in the Supreme Court of British Columbia and a sales brochure.

    The development was set for 2050-2070 Marine Drive and 2000 Curling Road in the District of North Vancouver, a few minutes east from the Capilano River and the border with the District of West Vancouver.

    The site is formerly home to the Travelodge Hotel by Wyndham Vancouver Lions Gate and a Denny's diner. The Pho Japolo restaurant on the site remains open.
    By Howard Chai
    03-05-2024

  6. Vancouver considers more gambling at city's two casinos

    The B.C. Lottery Corporation wants Vancouver to lift or amend its 13-year-old moratorium on the expansion of gambling in the city.

    According to the city’s general manager of arts, culture and community services, Margaret Wittgens, there has been recent interest from the BCLC to expand gambling at the city’s two casinos — Parq and Hastings Racecourse.

    “BCLC is seeking to expand gambling opportunities at the Parq and Hastings Racecourse casinos by potentially increasing the number of slot machines and table games,” Wittgens wrote in a report going to council’s committee on policy and strategic priorities on May 8.


    
    By David Carrigg
    03-05-2024

  7. The RE/MAX® brand delivers notable advantages – for agents with a RE/MAX brokerage

    As the 2024 RE/MAX vs. The Industry report shows, RE/MAX agents are the most productive, meaning they close more transaction sides than other real estate agents, on average. In fact, RE/MAX agents closed an average of 11.8 transaction sides throughout 2023, nearly double that of the competition

    But productivity isn’t the only place RE/MAX shines. The annual report, which ranks the results of national, full-service brokerage brands in the U.S., also highlights that the balloon-backed brand dominated in unaided brand awareness at 36.4%. 
    Source: other
    02-05-2024

  8. The clock is now ticking on hefty fines for those who don’t fall in line reguarding short-term rentals

    The province’s short-term-rental compliance enforcement unit officially swings into action Wednesday, as B.C.’s new rules banning most short-term rentals come into effect.

    The new rules passed in the fall — part of a multi-pronged approach to create more homes to rent or buy amid a national housing crisis — are aimed at converting thousands of short-term rentals into long-term rental housing for people who work and live in the province.

    Despite pressure from vacation-rental owners, Premier David Eby and Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon have not backed down from the controversial initiative to “rein in profit-driven mini-hotel operators” and return homes to people who need them.
    By Cindy E. Harnett
    01-05-2024

  9. The proverbial 'Bank of Mom and Dad' is strongest in B.C. and appears to be buoyed by foreign-derived income

    British Columbia leads all Canadian provinces and territories in co-ownership arrangements for residential properties between parents and their young adult children, according to a new report from Statistics Canada.

    The report found 20.3 per cent of the B.C. residents born after 1989 (adult children) who own a property had a co-ownership arrangement with their parents, as compared to 17.3 per cent for all of Canada.

    Furthermore, parents who are immigrants co-own properties more frequently with their adult children than Canadian-born parents; in Vancouver, 76.9 per cent of parents who co-owned properties were immigrants.
    By Graeme Wood
    01-05-2024

  10. Canadian mortgage payments went from virtually nothing to very high

    Canadian mortgage payments went from virtually nothing to the highest level in well over a decade, inflicting pain on mortgage borrowers. However, the value of homes also surged. In fact, from the rate cuts that sent home prices surging in March 2020 to the end of 2023, the growth rate of home prices outpaced the increase in the average mortgage payment on file at Equifax. This was true in most of Canada’s largest cities, especially in Eastern Canada where the average household’s payment significantly lagged home price growth. 

    Canadian Home Values Climbed Faster Than Mortgage Payments
    Source: other
    01-05-2024

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