Close X
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
ADVT 
National

B.C. Government Will Not Reconsider Tax On Foreign Homebuyers, Says Premier

The Canadian Press, 07 Sep, 2016 11:54 AM
    VANCOUVER — The plunge in real estate sales and deceleration in price increases in the Vancouver area last month were exactly what the government was trying to manoeuvre, and Premier Christy Clark says there will be no changes to the foreign-buyers tax.
     
    Clark told reporters Tuesday that her government will not reconsider the 15-per-cent tax that is intended to calm what she called a "distorted market."
     
    "The prices were going up way too fast and if we helped slow that down, that's good," she said.
     
    The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver announced last Friday that August sales were down by 26 per cent compared with last year, signalling a return to more typical levels.
     
    The largest drop in property sales last month was among detached homes, with a decrease of 44.5 per cent.
     
    Along with the slowdown in sales, the board said prices that were once skyrocketing may be tapering off.
     
    The average price of a detached home fell to $1.47 million last month, a 16.7 per cent drop from the month before. Dan Morrison, president of the real estate board, said on Friday that the region was seeing fewer sales of the highest-priced detached homes and fewer sales of detached homes compared with other kinds of housing, causing average prices to slump.
     
     
    But the real estate board prefers to measure prices using the benchmark price, which is a representation of a "typical" property sold in the area.
     
    The benchmark price for detached properties reached $1.57 million in August, representing a 12-month increase of 35.8 per cent. However, compared with July, the figure was down 0.1 per cent.
     
    Clark said it is too early to tell what the impact of the foreign-buyers tax and a luxury sales tax on homes priced over $2 million has had on the market.
     
    While the premier said changes to the new legislation are not an option, the government will be doing even more to try to address housing affordability in Metro Vancouver.
     
    "We need to make it easier for first time home buyers to get into the market and that's not just about price."
     
     
    Housing supply is a contributing factor to the problem, Clark said, with prospective developments "languishing" in city planning departments for years.
     
    Without giving away specifics, Clark said her government will look at ways to ensure cities are "moving some of that inventory" and increasing supply.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Tima Kurdi Says Haunting Photo Of Syrian Boy Risks Prolonging Middle Eastern Conflict

    Tima Kurdi Says Haunting Photo Of Syrian Boy Risks Prolonging Middle Eastern Conflict
    Tima Kurdi of Coquitlam, B.C., said Wednesday's image of a stunned and weary-looking child, coated in dust and blood and perched on an orange seat in the back of an ambulance in civil war-ravaged Aleppo, is being used in the West to garner further support for the rebels battling Syrian President 

    Tima Kurdi Says Haunting Photo Of Syrian Boy Risks Prolonging Middle Eastern Conflict

    'It Could Do Harm:' Immigration Minister Hesitant To Discuss Calgary Imam Held In Turkey

    'It Could Do Harm:' Immigration Minister Hesitant To Discuss Calgary Imam Held In Turkey
    CALGARY — Canada's immigration minister says it's best if he doesn't say much about a Canadian imam who was jailed in Turkey shortly after last month's failed coup.

    'It Could Do Harm:' Immigration Minister Hesitant To Discuss Calgary Imam Held In Turkey

    Ottawa Looking For 'Middle Ground' In Revamp Of Temporary Foreign Worker Program

    Ottawa Looking For 'Middle Ground' In Revamp Of Temporary Foreign Worker Program
    McCallum says the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources should be ready to present its report to Parliament in September.

    Ottawa Looking For 'Middle Ground' In Revamp Of Temporary Foreign Worker Program

    Girl Kills Seagull At Beach, Quebec Father Faces Charge

    Girl Kills Seagull At Beach, Quebec Father Faces Charge
    A police statement says officers were called to the beach on Wednesday about complaints that a girl was trying to hit seagulls with a shovel.

    Girl Kills Seagull At Beach, Quebec Father Faces Charge

    Boy Sentenced For Attacking Girl In Winnipeg Parkade, Pair Lived In Same Hotel

     A teenaged boy has been sentenced to three years for violently attacking a girl in a case that helped push the Manitoba government to stop placing foster children in hotel rooms.

    Boy Sentenced For Attacking Girl In Winnipeg Parkade, Pair Lived In Same Hotel

    'Hey, Thor:' Dog And Family Reunited Almost 2 Years After Dognapping

    'Hey, Thor:' Dog And Family Reunited Almost 2 Years After Dognapping
    Dawn Mengering and her family thought they had lost their beloved pet forever when they moved to Windsor, N.S., from British Columbia last August

    'Hey, Thor:' Dog And Family Reunited Almost 2 Years After Dognapping