1003 replies to this topic

[VicHockeyFan]

Well that's the thing right. Don't ***** about housing shortages or housing prices whil you continue to restrict supply. Just let more get built, or shut up.

[VicHockeyFan]

They may wear the same social democratic cloth and run left-leaning councils, but Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan and Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson have vastly different ideals when it comes to housing affordability and their municipal roles in shaping it.

 

As RCMP moved in Wednesday to evict protesters from a low-rent Metrotown building about to be demolished and replaced with condos, Corrigan has come under fire for not adopting some of the rental development incentives Robertson has used to create more housing. Corrigan, who has held sway in Burnaby for 14 years, says he’s not about to give in to downloading what he says are provincial and federal responsibilities.

 

Vancouver’s Robertson has loudly pronounced that local governments have a moral responsibility to do everything they can, even when the federal and provincial governments don’t step up. His Vision Vancouver council has introduced a dizzying array of programs and incentives to try to create rental housing, some more effective than others.

 

Burnaby’s Corrigan, however, has drawn a firm line, arguing his municipality has neither the resources nor the mandate to take on the provincial and federal governments’ housing responsibilities. Instead, he insists that money his city gets from developers in return for bonus density should be spent on the amenities and services new populations will require.

 

http://vancouversun....re-worlds-apart

 

Yet the two men and their cities have radically different approaches to the rising pressure on the region’s diminishing low-income and affordable housing. Even on housing the homeless Burnaby and Vancouver are worlds apart. Where Vancouver has pushed for homeless shelters and needled the province to fund emergency winter facilities, Burnaby has not a single shelter and has resisted provincial offers to set up a permanent shelter.

 

 

And Corrigan hasn’t helped, at one point telling a journalist that some who live in Vancouver’s shelters are the type of drug-addicted, mentally-ill and habitually criminal folks who would steal a dying person’s gold fillings.

 

 

[VicHockeyFan]

The province is going to stick another 15% tax on foreign buyers, effective August 2.

 

Foreign owners who buy Metro Vancouver residential real estate will have to pay a lot more in provincial property transfer tax.

 

The BC government is bringing in a 15 per cent tax on sales to foreign nationals. To put that in perspective, the tax will amount to a $300,000 extra charge on a $2-million home.

 

The province introduced new legislation today which makes the change, along with several others.

 

The property transfer tax comes into effect next Tuesday (Aug 2). It will not apply to homes bought on Tsawwassen First Nation land.

 

The money raised will be added to a new Housing Priority Initiatives Fund, which will pay for new provincial housing and rental programs.

 

“The amendments include anti-avoidance rules, designed to capture transactions that are structured specifically to avoid the additional tax,” says Finance Minister Michael de Jong.

 

 

That will certainly be good for raising housing prices outside Metro Vancouver.

 

http://www.news1130....foreign-buyers/

[lanforod]

Is there a reason they are only applying this in Vancouver? You'd think Victoria would get a look for the same issue. I don't think this will make much difference, other than further padding government revenue. Free money though, essentially.

[VicHockeyFan]

This tax is crazy. Well, I mean it's crazy that it's coming in August 2nd. No conveyancer with one of these in their file will be sleeping for a week.

[DavidSchell]

Is there a reason they are only applying this in Vancouver? You'd think Victoria would get a look for the same issue. I don't think this will make much difference, other than further padding government revenue. Free money though, essentially.

 

I am wonder if it will accelerate foreign buying in this area as we will be that much cheaper? 

[johnk]

Will it bring housing prices down to actually affordable levels for young families? Or is it a fig leaf to cover up the unsightly bits and give the impression of... DECISIVE ACTION!

[VicHockeyFan]

Will it bring housing prices down to actually affordable levels for young families? Or is it a fig leaf to cover up the unsightly bits and give the impression of... DECISIVE ACTION!

It will have an immediate impact on foreign buyers for sure.

But we will see what happens.

[Nparker]

It will be interesting to see the effect on the Victoria market. I hope someone is keeping stats of "foreign national" sales in the CRD.

[VicHockeyFan]

http://www.theprovin...1609/story.html

 

Here's the problem.  Between 69,000 and 100,000 housing units are caught up in regulatory delays.  In a place that builds 20,000 per year.

[Szeven]

People have no problem skirting the 50k/yr cap on capital exiting China, so I dont see how they would have any trouble finding a resident family member or Canadian corp to purchase the home in their name.

[Greg]

This 15% tax would have probably stopped me from buying here originally. Which would have resulted in a net loss of taxes paid to BC over the ensuing 14 years, not to mention the probable disappearance of a number of high-paying jobs in the business unit I came here to integrate into the acquiring company. But never mind any adverse unintended consequences, just act and see what happens.

[nagel]

This 15% tax would have probably stopped me from buying here originally. Which would have resulted in a net loss of taxes paid to BC over the ensuing 14 years, not to mention the probable disappearance of a number of high-paying jobs in the business unit I came here to integrate into the acquiring company. But never mind any adverse unintended consequences, just act and see what happens.

you could theoretically have rented until you became a permanent resident.

[Greg]

you could theoretically have rented until you became a permanent resident.

Yep. And would have been less rooted to the area, and done my stint here and moved on. And felt a lot less welcome the whole time.

[nagel]

Yep. And would have been less rooted to the area, and done my stint here and moved on. And felt a lot less welcome the whole time.

it does seem harsh to apply the tax to your primary residence

[Nparker]

This 15% tax would have probably stopped me from buying here originally...

Why not just buy outside of the geographical limitations of this tax? You could still have invested in the Province, and as suggested above, rented in the GVRD until such time as you qualified for resident status. Everybody wins.

[nagel]

The legislation appears to have reg power to add another area so theoretically the CoV or another municipality could be added on short notice.

[LeoVictoria]

This 15% tax would have probably stopped me from buying here originally. Which would have resulted in a net loss of taxes paid to BC over the ensuing 14 years, not to mention the probable disappearance of a number of high-paying jobs in the business unit I came here to integrate into the acquiring company. But never mind any adverse unintended consequences, just act and see what happens.

 

Nothing is without downsides.   Trying to stop the insanity in Vancouver is well worth a few people renting for a few years.   Vancouver prices appreciated by 30% in a year, so if 15% would have caused you not to buy, then you wouldn't be buying in the current environment anyway.

[Coreyburger]

Geoff Plant had a good suggestion today: apply capital gains to all houses, regardless of status. That would help control some of the costs.

[sdwright.vic]

People have no problem skirting the 50k/yr cap on capital exiting China, so I dont see how they would have any trouble finding a resident family member or Canadian corp to purchase the home in their name.

Because CRA would consider that income.