The one duty that never expires is the continuing duty of confidentiality.
YOU ARE NOT GOING TO HAVE A CHOICE AS TO WHO REPRESENTS YOU
The one duty that never expires is the continuing duty of confidentiality.
For the 70% of Canadians who own a home, it is a place to live, raise a family, and connects them to their community.
Due to Canada’s tax system’s Principal Residence Exemption, when we sell our homes, any increased value or “capital gains” are not taxed.
This tax break matters to Canadian homeowners. Collectively, we have about $3 trillion in home equity and our homes are often our largest financial asset.
However, starting with 2016 income tax returns, there are some changes in how homeowners qualify for the Principal Residence Exemption.
Until now, the Canada Revenue Agency has not required Canadians to report on a home sale during a tax season. However, if you sold your home in 2016 or later, you will need to complete a Schedule 3, Capital Gains of the T1 Income Tax and Benefit Return in order to report your sale.
The good news is that, in terms of taxes, nothing has changed. The same tax benefit is available to anyone who sells their home, provided the property was the principal residence for every year you owned it – even if you use part of your home for business purposes. There is no “new tax” involved, only a requirement you report the sale details on your tax returns.
Foreign nationals with Canadian work permits coming to BC through the BC Provincial Nominee Program can now be exempt from the 15 per cent additional Property Transfer Tax (PTT) (known as the foreign buyer tax) when they buy a home. The exemption began March 17, 2017.
The foreign buyer tax took effect August 2, 2016. It originally applied to all foreign buyers, defined as foreign nationals and foreign corporations who are neither Canadian citizens nor permanent residents, buying residential property in Metro Vancouver, excluding treaty lands in the Tsawwassen First Nation.
Existing BC provincial nominees who bought a principal residence on or after Aug. 2, 2016, can apply for a refund. Application forms are available on the government’s website.
The Province is also extending rebates of the additional PTT to foreign nationals who became permanent residents or Canadian citizens within one year of purchasing a principal residence.
Foreign nationals working in BC who are not BC Provincial Nominees, such as those in the Canadian Federal Skilled Worker Program, are not entitled to the upfront exemption.
“British Columbia has always welcomed the world’s best and brightest, where they find a place that embraces them,” said Premier Clark. “Our growing tech sector depends on the Provincial Nominee Program, and that’s why we’re removing barriers, so they can get to work, create jobs, and help build B.C.”
All buyers of residential property in BC pay the PTT at a rate of a one per cent tax on the first $200,000 of their purchase, two per cent on the remaining value up to $2 million, and three per cent on the portion above that. The foreign buyers tax is a 15 per cent tax in addition on the whole value of the property.
Learn more or phone 1.888.355.2700
The BC Minister of Finance has announced several changes to the Property Transfer Tax program, effective Wednesday, Feb 17th, which include:
*The first time home buyers exemption will remain in place for all homes under $475,000
This change will encourage a number of buyers -- both first-time and repeat -- to jump off the fence and into the market. Repeat buyers now get an exemption on new builds up to $750,000. This is good news and will likely stimulate the move up buyers to look around as a $13,000 cash expense has just been removed from the process of moving from one property up to a larger, nicer, brand new place.
On the flip-side of the changes, however, are purchasers of luxury homes. Under the new changes, they will pay higher land transfer fees. A client purchasing a $4,000,000 home is not slowed by a $20,000.00 increase in purchase taxation; they will still pay the four million.
Also, good news is the tracking the country of residence in all property transactions. Expect changes from the board in the next few weeks.
An entire city block is up for grabs for $28-million in Vancouver’s upscale Kerrisdale neighbourhood, providing a glimpse into what a difference zoning makes when determining land values.
Since HQ Commercial posted the listing late Friday night, it has created a buzz in the city’s real estate circles. The asking price for the commercially zoned “C-2” block works out to $357 a square foot of buildable space or $893 a square foot of land.
David Goodman, a principal at HQ Commercial, expects the Kerrisdale property will attract bids from developers interested in constructing a four-storey condo complex after demolishing the five aging two-storey rental buildings on the site.
The assessed value of the entire property totalled $15.9-million on July 1, 2013, according to BC Assessment. The city block has enough room to fit in 10 single-family detached homes if they each were to have skinny 26-foot frontages. But the $28-million asking price reflects HQ Commercial’s belief that the land will be attractive to developers who could design ground-floor businesses such as a grocery store and restaurant, while saving the top three floors for condos.
Industry experts say that demand from new arrivals migrating from other provinces and countries, notably China, are part of the reason real estate prices have soared over the past 15 years. But on the supply side, Mr. Goodman is scratching his head and wonders why the City of Vancouver has effectively placed a moratorium in recent years on demolishing old rental apartments, unless a site happens to be already zoned like the Kerrisdale block for commercial development.
Mr. Goodman said the Kerrisdale property sale isn’t a case of renters being cast adrift unfairly in future because the tenants used to be suite owners as part of a co-op arrangement dating back many years. There are 44 units spread over the five buildings on the site, including 14 one-bedroom suites and 30 two-bedroom units. Many residents received premium prices for agreeing to relinquish their units for more than $350,000 each, while those who owned larger suites fetched the most money
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Disagreements over land use in Vancouver have led to delays in bringing on new housing, which in turn restricts supply and puts upward pressure on real estate prices, experts say.
Just a stone’s throw away from the Kerrisdale property is a stretch of land that is part of Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd.’s right-of-way for a now-abandoned freight route known as the Arbutus Corridor. The City of Vancouver’s zoning for CP’s 11-kilometre path is for a transportation corridor. By that definition, Mayor Gregor Robertson reckons that the railway’s property that snakes through some of Canada’s priciest neighbourhoods is worth perhaps $20-million in total. That works out to $10.68 a square foot – the City of Vancouver’s low-ball offer to CP.
Hunter Harrison, CP’s chief executive officer, figures a more realistic value would be at least five times higher to total $100-million at a minimum, or beyond $400-million on the higher end of the appraisal range based on adjacent land. CP recently took out full-page newspaper ads, featuring an open letter from Mr. Harrison to press his case that the City of Vancouver is trying to acquire the right-of-way for a song.
Some observers are puzzled by Mr. Robertson’s opposition to developing the Arbutus corridor while he supports increased density elsewhere, such as laneway houses popping up all over the city. Those are the small homes built next to alleys in the spot where the garage would normally be located.
The Arbutus Corridor is a good case in point to highlight the difficult and sensitive nature of what to do about vacant land in a city starved for development space. Many Kerrisdale residents want civic leaders to preserve the lengthy strip of track as a greenbelt for the foreseeable future. Civic officials have mulled over the possibility of using CP’s right-of-way in the long term for passenger light-rail transit, but so far, have ruled out zoning for residential development.
Boost your home's value!
You could win a $10,000 curb appeal prize pack including:
Visit a participating CENTURY 21 open house on May 24 or 25 and fill in the contest entry form!
View complete contest terms and conditions.
The “Open House Weekend Blitz” contest (the “Contest”) is open to individuals residing in Canada only, excluding individuals residing in the province of Quebec, who have reached the age of majority in the province or territory in which they reside.The Contest commences at 12:00am PST on May 24, 2014 and concludes at 11:59pm on May 25, 2014 (the “Contest Period”). In order to enter the Contest, eligible individuals must visit a participating CENTURY 21 Canada System open house during the Contest Period and sign in (fill in the contest entry form) during the Contest Period.By entering the Contest, entrants automatically agree to be bound by the complete Contest Terms and Conditions, which are subject to change without notice to Contest entrants individually.
Located in the common area shared by the Olympic Village’s Community Centre, the Salt Building and retail floor spaces is a plaza where it will become a people’s gathering place for the entire Southeast Falsecreek area.
Here out in the plaza, you will also find Vancouver artist Myfanwy MacLeod’s two larger-than-life sparrows (or ‘The Birds’) painted with the true colors of the small bird that was introduced to North America from England in the 1800s.
Since then, sparrows have multiplied so much that they crowded out other native species, upsetting the ecology and biodiversity of the continent. MacLeod’s pair of giant sparrows (one male and one female) are 18 ft. tall and they dwarf visitors to the plaza.
The sculptor said the idea of making the small bird bigger was to underline the message that when a foreign specie is introduced, it could wreak havoc upon the native eco-system and make us aware of the interdependence of nature. MacLeod’s message couldn’t be more appropriate for the Southeast Falsecreek site which was an industrial wasteland that was very much polluted before the Olympic Village was built.
In developing the Millennium Water project, special attention was paid to environmental impacts, both in the past and in the future. The whole site was designed to follow LEED Gold and Platinum guidelines. An artificial man-made Habitat Island was also created to encourage the growth of habitat both on land and in the water.
It was recently discovered that herring eggs are beginning to appear in the once dirty Falsecreek shoreline. Not co-incidentally, the Olympic Village was recognized as the World’s Greenest Neighborhood.
Mainland Chinese investor buyers have all but disappeared from Vancouver’s real-estate marketplace, and their unexpected departure has left many developers, real-estate agents and construction trades with postponed plans and shelved strategies.
The sudden absence of the once-omnipresent Chinese investor has also meant no media photo ops of buyer lineups and a softening market in metro Vancouver.
It’s my opinion, however, that when mainland Chinese buyers return to Vancouver it will be a feeding frenzy due to pent-up demand. And they could return as soon as the next six to 12 months, depending on when – not if – the Chinese government changes its tight mortgage-lending policy. The People’s Republic of China is slated to name a new leader in 2013 and historically every change in leadership brings with it new policies to create its own legacy. Of course, the Chinese government is not democratically elected by the people, meaning they get to do whatever they want, whenever they want, without civic input.
Here’s a little background: Vancouverites consider real-estate prices high, but in China during the first decade of the new millennium they were astronomic. So in 2009 the Chinese government introduced a policy designed to cool investor speculation in real estate while allowing ordinary citizens to buy their own home. This policy stipulated that buyers could purchase their first home with 30 per cent cash down, but if they bought a second property it would require a whopping 60 per cent down payment. That move halted the investor market in China and prices dropped by 30 to 40 per cent in major centres such as Beijing and Shanghai.
While it did allow many citizens to buy their own home, it also greatly reduced the amount of cash investors had to invest in real estate. If you’d just lost 40 per cent of the cash value of your Guangzhou condo, why would you buy two more in Burnaby?
Last Chinese New Year is when Vancouver real-estate developers and marketers first noticed the absence of the mainland Chinese buyer, as this is typically when they visit Vancouver and go on a shopping spree. But they went missing this past February, a telltale sign that the government’s strict policy was working and that the overall economy was slowing down.
The reality in China is that the real-estate industry accounts for a hefty 11 per cent of the country’s overall GDP. If you include related industries like appliances and furniture, it increases to between 22 and 25 per cent. The People’s Republic of China simply cannot afford to have the important real-estate industry stall and its economy go sideways, which is why I believe that, in short order, the government will start relaxing the restrictive lending policies, investors will start getting back into the market and, as their assets become more liquid, we’ll see them return to metro Vancouver. When China’s real-estate market returns to brisk buying and selling, many Chinese will once again look for a safe haven to park their newly regained wealth.
Vancouver is poised to become one of the biggest, if not the biggest, beneficiaries of that wealth looking for a new home. When asked why they like Vancouver, many Chinese investors have told me that they prefer to invest here because Vancouver is “safe” and “nothing bad ever happens here.” The sudden rise and fall in real-estate prices we’re seeing now in China, as well as fluctuations in the overall economy, mean that people view investing there as no less risky than placing bets on a baccarat table. It also means that parking money in Vancouver feels to them as safe as investing in treasury bills.
While the policy change has impacted investors’ cash flow in the short term, it hasn’t curbed their enthusiasm for Vancouver real estate. The Chinese government is predicted to have a change in leadership this fall and after that change, I believe, we will see major changes in the country’s mortgage-lending policies and the return, once again, of the Chinese investor.
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The city of Vancouver is working with experienced developers to transform downtown south into an evolving urban village that incorporates a greater use of public spaces, design and architecture.
The whole area will be changing, where current buildings, uses and roadways will undergo a transformation in favor of establishing vibrant, stylish and people-friendly streets. The plans include a new road system to improve walking and biking access to the waterfront and seawall, ease the traffic commute and a new vibrant commercial hub along Pacific Boulevard.
Some of the changes are:
This will increase the current density and soon hundreds of new residents and commercial tenants will call Downtown South home.
In Surrey, B.C., development company Tien Sher is creating a four-storey condo building home to 56 “micro suites.”
Touted as Canada’s smallest condos, “Balance” units are 290 square feet. But with a price tag of just $109,900 and a prime location in a quiet neighborhood just a few minutes’ walk from public transit, there may be some benefits to investing in smaller space.
Developer/owner Charan Sethi says the idea stemmed from current market conditions. “This whole project began about a year ago when we had numerous people coming to us wanting to buy, but the mortgage rules and escalating prices shut them out of the market. We wanted to find out what these people are willing to live in, what are their lifestyles, and what are they looking for?”
Finding that prospective buyers and tenants typically don’t own a car, used public transit and would be OK living in a smaller space if it were in the right location, the idea for Balance came about. Sethi is already fighting off investor interest, (“I have someone who wants to buy the entire building already,” he says), but wants to try the project on the open market first. That said, Sethi has nothing against investors purchasing single units; in fact, he fully expects it.
"Investors, in most of my projects, are about 60% of my market. Because investors will make a decision very quickly when there’s pre-sales happening, where an end-user does not,” he says.
And as for the small physicality of the units themselves, Sethi believes there will be no shortage of people willing to make use of them. “These suites have everything these people need – a bedroom area, a kitchen, and laundry facilities. If they use the space properly, they can live very comfortably.”
He points to the Burns Block building in downtown Vancouver as an example. It underwent renovations to spruce up the suites, which are 226 and 291 square feet. They’re now currently being rented out for $850 a month.
“When they first came out, people were complaining they were too small, but in less than a month the whole building was occupied,” says Sethi. Sales are projected to begin in early 2013.
Construction has started for a 47-inch-wide Polish house that takes the term “hole-in-the-wall” to another, skinnier level.
It was reported before on the world’s narrowest house, located in a crack between two buildings in Warsaw, which measures about four feet at its broadest and 27 inches at its slimmest. This architectural equivalent of a corset was designed by Centrala’s Jakub Szczesny for Israeli writer Etgar Keret, who will live and work there when it opens mid-October.
Artists and thinkers — hopefully, the non-claustrophobic kind — will stay at the so-called Keret House when its titular occupant isn’t there. Electricity will be provided by nearby buildings; the 150-square-foot house will have a bed, desk, kitchen, shower and an independent, boat-inspired water and sewage system, as well as remote-controlled stairs that can flatten against a wall when not in use. We’re sure that the house would put anyone in a working state of mind, since the frame basically looks like a file folder, and the steel exterior resembles an Apple-designed pill.
Pictures below, courtesy of Centrala: