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British Columbia real-estate and foreign buyer taxes


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#401 rjag

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Posted 08 May 2017 - 07:57 AM

All sorts of row housing on Shelbourne which looks great. James Bay would be a perfect area to do this...just wont be 'affordable'. 



#402 lanforod

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Posted 08 May 2017 - 09:00 AM

Lots more row housing could fit in Saanich, and if we get a lot of it, they could come in at under 500k, which would be a good price for a second home for many young families that started in a small condo.


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#403 rjag

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Posted 08 May 2017 - 09:33 AM

Lots more row housing could fit in Saanich, and if we get a lot of it, they could come in at under 500k, which would be a good price for a second home for many young families that started in a small condo.

 

Good luck getting a townhouse for under $750k, cost of permits and land dictate local pricing as well as demand, cost of construction labour and materials is the same whether Langford or Saanich. Dont forget the time delays in Saanch to get a permit can also have an impact on pricing as the developers have to carry the land and cover the carrying charges while it takes 1-1.5 years or more to wind its way through all the red tape


Edited by rjag, 08 May 2017 - 10:15 AM.

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#404 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 08 May 2017 - 09:52 AM

There is zero appetite for high density in Saanich, except on the busy corridors.


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#405 lanforod

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Posted 08 May 2017 - 10:41 AM

There is zero appetite for high density in Saanich, except on the busy corridors.

I agree, but there is a lot of busy corridor space. McKenzie, Shelbourne, Quadra have lots of old houses that could go. Probably not the volume required to drive prices down though.



#406 Awaiting Juno

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Posted 08 May 2017 - 10:54 AM

There is actually no "crisis", as I have said before.  I do not know a single working person that is homeless because of our tight housing supply.  Zero.  There are no such people.

 

I don't think "homeless/not homeless" is an adequate measure of satisfactory housing.  If you share a one bedroom apartment but would prefer a three bedroom townhouse, you're not "homeless" but you might not be adequately housed depending on your family situation.



#407 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 25 June 2017 - 11:19 AM

The number of “under-occupied” homes in Vancouver has almost doubled in the past 15 years, from 12,885 to 25,495 dwellings, according to census data.

So although some of those homes will be exempt from the tax, and even if some cheaters skirt the rules, it’s hard to imagine the city not raising enough money to cover the cost of the tax, said Tom Davidoff, a housing economist from UBC’s Sauder School of Business, adding: “I would be very unpleasantly surprised to see the city actually lose money on this deal.”

 

But there are still many unknowns, as is to be expected when the city tries to do something never done before in Canada. As of this week, with city staff estimating costs of $7.4 million — up from $4.7 million seven months ago — the city does not have an estimate for how much money the tax will bring in.

When Vancouver announced the tax back in September, Mayor Gregor Robertson told The Vancouver Sun’s Matt Robinson that at least $2 million would be raised by the tax annually, which would be enough to cover the costs of administering it.

This week, Davidoff was far more bullish, saying: “I don’t think $100 million (in first-year revenue) is out of the question.”

 

http://www.theprovin...8376/story.html


<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#408 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 20 December 2017 - 11:16 AM

Still, as late as April of this year, the City of Victoria was considering pushing the province to institute a similar tax here to cool off what was one of the hottest real-estate markets in the country.

 

Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps said she has since been convinced that such a tax would be a bad idea, and said CMHC’s figures suggest it’s unnecessary.

 

“And what I know in working with the Chinese community and others, including the technology sector, is that people who come to Victoria from China and the U.S. — and anywhere else — is they come to live here and become part of our community,” she said.

 

Helps said there’s little chance city council will revisit the foreign buyers tax any time soon.

“And I hope not, particularly if we are making evidence-based and data-driven decisions,” she said.

 

http://www.timescolo...cate-1.23127392


Edited by VicHockeyFan, 20 December 2017 - 11:16 AM.

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<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#409 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 20 December 2017 - 11:21 AM

April 2017:

 

Victoria Coun. Jeremy Loveday said he not only supports the idea of the tax but would like to see it brought in immediately, adding foreign buyers already account for 5.2% of sales here. “Speculation is already an issue in our region. Costs are skyrocketing and the dream of home ownership is getting further and further away for many of our residents,” he said.

 

https://www.biv.com/...gets-mixed-rev/


<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#410 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 20 December 2017 - 11:24 AM

Victoria’s mayor wants the province to implement a foreign buyer tax to help tame the city’s housing market and level the playing field between it and big cities like Vancouver and Toronto.

 

“Victoria, Vancouver, and Toronto are the most expensive housing markets in the country,” Lisa Helps said in an interview on BNN. “It doesn’t make sense that out of the three most expensive real estate markets in the country, two of the three have one tax regime and Victoria has another one.”

 

The city voted in favour Thursday of a foreign buyer tax, similar to the one implemented in Metro Vancouver. Once the vote is formally ratified, councillors will move to ask the province to implement the tax.

 

Helps says there are many options to tame the housing market, but they’re not able to put them to work themselves.

 

“The unfortunate thing for municipalities is those solutions are not at our disposal,” she said. “We have to rely on higher levels of government to help with the affordability crisis that we’re facing in our cities.”

 

https://www.bnn.ca/v...-mayor-1.734195

 

^ This one is with video, and Helps says it was 2-3% before the Vancouver tax, but then it went to 10% for a time. 


Edited by VicHockeyFan, 20 December 2017 - 11:25 AM.

<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#411 Nparker

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Posted 20 December 2017 - 11:26 AM

“And I hope not, particularly if we are making evidence-based and data-driven decisions,” she said.

That's sort of a 180 degree turn from normal CoV operating procedure, n'est-ce pas?


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#412 Nparker

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Posted 20 December 2017 - 11:27 AM

Sounds like someone might have had a little sidebar conversation during her trip to China.


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#413 spanky123

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Posted 20 December 2017 - 12:19 PM

Sounds like someone might have had a little sidebar conversation during her trip to China.

 

I am not saying that we should implement a foreign buyers tax but the TC is only reporting 1/2 of the survey results. The 1% figure quoted refers to all ownership of property in the CRD. When you restrict the focus to condos in Victoria proper then the % is much higher as you would expect. Using Vancouver as an example, the difference was 4.8% to 7.6%


Edited by spanky123, 20 December 2017 - 12:23 PM.


#414 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 20 December 2017 - 12:51 PM

Vancouverites have to "declare" by Feb 2nd.

 

http://vancouver.ca/...rty-status.aspx

 

So let's take some guesses now, what percentage will declare on time?

 

I'll say somewhere between 60 and 80%.  And the highest non-compliance with be in the ethnic areas.

 

 

 

According to the 2011 Census, there are 159,200 people living in Metro Vancouver born in China, 111,265 born in India, 87,945 from Philippines, 72,230 from Hong Kong and 61,255 born in the United Kingdom.

 

 

http://www.vancitybu...etro-vancouver/

 

No wonder there is a "housing crisis".

 

593-984x500.png


Edited by VicHockeyFan, 20 December 2017 - 12:59 PM.

<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#415 Mike K.

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Posted 20 December 2017 - 01:09 PM

From November of this year: Foreign buyers behind 5.1% of Victoria's September real-estate purchases

 

From August of this year: Victoria’s high number of ‘empty homes’ a myth: Statistics Canada

 

The sudden about face has me wondering just what else the mayor has realized was a fantastic talking point but which is not supported by reality.


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#416 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 02 February 2018 - 08:06 AM

Well today is the self-declare deadline in Vancouver.  What's everyone's guess on the percentage that have?

 

I'll say 31%.


Edited by VicHockeyFan, 02 February 2018 - 08:06 AM.

<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#417 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 02 February 2018 - 08:15 AM

'The hypocrisy is glaring': as Vancouver rolls out empty homes tax, city-owned house remains vacant
 
House near Trout Lake has sat empty for 2 years
 

<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

#418 rjag

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Posted 02 February 2018 - 08:19 AM

2 houses owned by Oak Bay are empty as well

#419 tjv

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Posted 02 February 2018 - 10:33 AM

Maybe someone can educate me on this.  It will have to be the City that has to prove that the house is vacant correct?  How do they intend to do that, have city workers stake out houses?

 

Theoretically, someone could have their kids mail sent there.  Have some lights on timers, shut the blinds, and keep a tap lightly dripping 24/7 to simulate normal water usage.



#420 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 02 February 2018 - 10:36 AM

Who knows. It’s so odd. I’m sure there is a court challenge coming too.
<p><span style="font-size:12px;"><em><span style="color:rgb(40,40,40);font-family:helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">"I don’t need a middle person in my pizza slice transaction" <strong>- zoomer, April 17, 2018</strong></span></em></span>

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