Category Archives: Real Estate
Homeowners grant threshold leaps to $1.9 million in B.C. as property values increase
VICTORIA — Homeowners in British Columbia whose property is valued at just under $2 million will still be eligible for the annual homeowner grant. The provincial government announced Wednesday it has raised the grant threshold to $1.975 million for th...
B.C. property assessments continue to rise; rural communities show highest increases
VICTORIA — Assessed values of properties in British Columbia are up again, but the pricey Vancouver area has been upstaged by small towns where value estimates rose by more than 40 per cent. Data posted on the BC Assessment website this
Feds name housing priorities, eye foreign buyers ban on non-recreational residences
Justin Trudeau has handed his housing minister a series of tasks — including some targeting foreign buyers — in an attempt to make home ownership a reality for more Canadians. In a mandate letter sent to Ahmed Hussen on Thursday, the
Board proposes framework to increase housing options, affordability in Ontario
TORONTO — The Toronto Region Board of Trade is calling on the provincial government to implement a framework that will increase density and housing options across Ontario. In a report released Tuesday, the chamber of commerce proposes a provincial fram...
Ontario proposes housing affordability task force amid high prices and sales
TORONTO — Ontario is planning to establish a housing affordability task force, as both prices and the number of home sales have grown in the past year, though it's a pledge the opposition parties dismiss as meaningless. Telling figures illustrating the...
B.C. to introduce ‘cooling off’ period legislation for real estate
VICTORIA — British Columbia's government says it will introduce legislation in the spring aimed at giving homebuyers a chance to change their mind on the purchase of a home. The so-called cooling-off period would allow purchasers to back out with no
Parents are gifting increasingly large sums of money for kids’ down payments: CIBC
A new report shows parents are giving increasingly large financial gifts so their kids can afford down payments in Canada’s hot housing market. The report by CIBC deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal found the average gift for first time homebuyers rose...
N.S. student tenants: Saga of mouse-infested rooms shows need for tougher tenancy law
HALIFAX — Two Nova Scotia students who spent eight months fighting to be repaid rent after they departed their mouse-infested apartment say their case emphasizes the need for legal reforms to protect tenants. Kavita Krueger, Hayley Inglis and Mackenzie...
Canada’s housing strategy having ‘limited’ impact on housing need, PBO says
OTTAWA — The federal government has spent less than half of the funding earmarked for a pair of flagship housing programs as the need for affordable homes grows along with a yawning "affordability gap," says Canada's budget watchdog. Program lags at
Supreme Court to hear dispute over fate of undeveloped Nova Scotia land
OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada will look at whether a municipal move to prevent development of a parcel of land northwest of Halifax — and encourage its use as a park — might have amounted to expropriation. As usual,