The B.C. government unveiled a foreign-buyer’s tax last summer aimed at tamping down Vancouver’s runaway real estate market and making homes more affordable.

Eight months later, has home affordability actually improved?

Vancouver-area sales, listings and prices all dropped after the measure – a 15-per-cent property transfer tax on foreign national home buyers – went into effect Aug. 2.

But by then, the market was already cooling, Royal Bank of Canada senior economist Robert Hogue said last week in a report.

“The impact of the tax in Metro Vancouver...

Vancouver’s presale condo market is in need of regulation and transparency, say realtors whose clients are being routinely shut out of the frenzied market.

The presale market is the “wild west” of the industry, says realtor Steve Saretsky, who posted a blog post recently, titled “Vancouver Pre Sale Condo Ponzi Scheme.” Mr. Saretsky, who often speaks out against his own industry, says it’s common that offshore investors get first dibs on presale purchases. Those purchases are assigned, or flipped, to local buyers at a premium. He says in recent months,...

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The rental market is an important housing option for approximately 30% of Canadians. Effective May 15, CMHC will introduce enhancements to its multi-unit mortgage loan insurance that will address the rental needs of Canadians while supporting efforts to expand and preserve the supply of affordable rental housing.

“CMHC’s products and services facilitate access to housing for all Canadians, not just homebuyers” said Steve Mennill, Senior Vice-President, Insurance. “The enhancements to our multi-unit mortgage loan insurance products and policies are designed to expand our ...

Five-pillar approach will build stronger communities

The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) today announced a five-pillar approach to address housing affordability for renters, homebuyers and homeowners across British Columbia.

BCREA’s five pillars include timely recommendations to:  assist consumers with housing costs,  encourage the creation of more rental housing,  densify urban areas,  adjust the Property Transfer Tax, and  promote best practices among local governments.

“REALTORS® understand the importance of housing affordability in creating strong communities,...

According to the Royal LePage House Price Survey[1] released today, Canada’s residential real estate market saw substantial price growth in the first quarter of 2017. While the majority of Canadian housing markets posted modest gains, price appreciation across much of Ontario significantly outpaced the rest of the country, with similar market dynamics to those that have driven housing activity in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) beginning to impact the entire “Golden Horseshoe” region of south-central Ontario, and as far away as Windsor and London in southwestern Ontario. Meanwhile,...

According to statistics released today by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national home sales were up on a month-over-month basis in March 2017.

Highlights:

• National home sales rose 1.1% from February to March.
• Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity in March was up 6.6% from a year earlier.
• The number of newly listed homes climbed 2.5% from February to March.
• The MLS^® Home Price Index (HPI) was up 18.6% year-over-year (y-o-y) in March 2017.
• The national average sale price increased by 8.2% y-o-y in March.

Home sales over Canadian MLS^® Systems edged up 1.1% in March 2017,...

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The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 9,826 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in March, down 21.8 per cent from the same period last year. Total sales dollar volume was $6.79 billion, down 30 per cent from March 2016. The average MLS® residential price in the province was $690,597, a 10.5 per cent decrease from the same period last year. 

“Consumer demand continues to normalize following blockbuster home sales in 2016,” says Brendon Ogmundson, BCREA Economist. “However, the supply...

A shortage of residential property listings coupled with strong demand, particularly for condos and townhomes, continued to impact Metro Vancouver’s housing market in March.

Residential property sales in the region totalled 3,579 in March 2017, a decrease of 30.8 per cent from the 5,173 sales recorded in record-breaking March 2016 and an increase of 47.6 per cent compared to February 2017 when 2,425 homes sold. 

Last month’s sales were 7.9 per cent above the 10-year sales average for the month. 

“While demand in March was below the record high of last...

"Spacious & Luxurious" This 3 Bedroom and 2 Bath Condo offers 1,283 sf with excellent layout, 9' ceiling, very Clean, Bright and Quiet Living. Elevator shared only by 3 units each floor of 10-story Concrete building. 2 large covered Balconies and stunning Mountain views. New Paint, New Engineered Hardwood Floor, Updated Lights Fixtures. Open concept Kitchen with S/S Appliances, Quartz Counters and Breakfast Bar. Spacious Living Room and Dining with electric Fireplace, with additional Media room space. Large Master Bedroom has his & her walk-in closets & 5 piece ensuite bath. 2nd and...

Demand for land helped commercial real estate sales and dollar value reach fiveyear highs in the Lower Mainland in 2016, according to data from Commercial Edge, a commercial real estate system operated by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).

There were 2,848 commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland in 2016, a 21 per cent increase over the 2,353 sales in 2015.

Commercial real estate sales in 2016 were 29.7 per cent above the region’s five-year sales average.

The total dollar value of commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland was $12.990 billion in 2016, a 47.4...

More foreign buyers of homes in British Columbia will be able to claim exemption from the additional property transfer tax introduced last year.

The government said Friday that the exemption will apply for workers moving to the province under the BC Provincial Nominee Program who buy a home in Metro Vancouver as their principal residence.

“British Columbia has always welcomed the world’s best and brightest, where they find a place that embraces them,” said Premier Christy Clark. “Our growing tech sector depends on the Provincial Nominee Program, and that’s why we’re...

The province has expanded its exemptions to the foreign-buyer tax on real estate to include workers coming into B.C. under the provincial nominee program, Premier Christy Clark announced Friday.

She also said the government will rebate the tax to foreign nationals who become permanent residents of Canada within a year of purchasing a principal residence, so long as they lived in the home for a full year.

Because the 15-per-cent tax has helped cool Metro Vancouver’s property markets, Finance Minister Mike de Jong said the province “is now in a position to provide targeted relief...

Starting today, premiums on mortgage insurance from Canada Mortgage Housing Corp. go up across the country.

CMHC says its average client will pay about $5 more per month.

The price of mortgage insurance, required for homebuyers making a down payment of less than 20 per cent, varies across Canada, as calculations by mortgage-comparison website Ratehub.ca show.

For example, a homebuyer in Halifax, where the average home price is $279,362, would pay $4.71 more per month under CMHC's new premiums.​ That's an increase of $1,413 over the life of a 25-year mortgage.

In Vancouver, however, where...

One big bank is arguing the debt-to-income ratio is the most “useless economic indicator out there.”

167.3%.

You’ll read a lot about these two numbers in the coming days. That’s the debt to income ratio for all Canadians and it just hit a new high in Q4 of last year.

It’ll be whipped out when arguing against mortgage debt and for policies aimed at safeguarding Canadians from taking on even more debt.

But it isn’t that simple, according to Benjamin Tal, chief economist with CIBC. And the ratio isn’t even that useful.

“The attractiveness of the ratio is...

Mortgage Rate Outlook

After an initial upward adjustment in global interest rates following the US presidential election, bond markets have since adopted a wait and see approach to US economic policy. As a result, the yield on the benchmark five-year bond has stayed constant through the first quarter of the year. Consequently, Canadian mortgage rates have also remained relatively unchanged. However, we could see some upward movement in interest rates over the second half of 2017, due to a stronger Canadian economy and a large degree of policy incoherence in the United States. Indeed, for the first...

According to statistics released today by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national home sales were up on a month-over-month basis in February 2017.

Highlights:

• National home sales rose 5.2% from January to February.
• Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity in February was down 2.6% from a year earlier.
• The number of newly listed homes was up 4.8% from January to February.
• The MLS^® Home Price Index (HPI) in February was up 16% year-over-year (y-o-y).
• The national average sale price edged up 3.5% y-o-y in February.

Home sales over Canadian MLS^® Systems rose by 5.2%...

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) has updated its forecast for home sales activity via the Multiple Listing Service^® (MLS^®) Systems of Canadian real estate Boards and Associations in 2017 and 2018.

Canadian housing market trends continue to display considerable regional divergence. In British Columbia, activity in the Lower Mainland has cooled markedly from all-time highs recorded early last year; however, sales and price pressures elsewhere in the province remain historically strong.

In the resource-intensive provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador,...

The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 6,580 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in February, down 31.7 per cent from the same period last year. Total sales dollar volume was $4.53 billion, down 39.7 per cent from February 2016. The average MLS® residential price in the province was $688,117, an 11.7 per cent decrease from the same period last year.

“Consumer demand has returned to a more typical level over the first two months of the year,” says Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “While...