Close X
Monday, November 11, 2024
ADVT 
National

B.C. tables 'cooling off' real estate plans

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 28 Mar, 2022 03:09 PM
  • B.C. tables 'cooling off' real estate plans

VICTORIA - The British Columbia government says people buying homes in the province's hot real estate market could soon be protected by a cooling-off period that gives them time to back out of an agreement.

Finance Minister Selina Robinson says the Property Law Amendment Act introduced in the legislature today will help build the framework for a protection period for homebuyers to properly assess, finance and inspect the home they want to buy.

Robinson says the length of the cooling-off period and potential financial costs of leaving a purchase agreement have yet to be determined.

A real estate expert says the government's cooling-off plan will not ease housing affordability in the province and could put sellers at a disadvantage.

Prof. Tsur Somerville at the University of B.C.'s Sauder school of business says the legislation would give buyers more time for due diligence, but may also allow purchasers to make offers without consequences, putting the seller at a disadvantage.

"You've got to have it set up in a way that has sufficient money at stake if somebody backs out of a deal."

Somerville says the legislation won't make housing less expensive.

"If your notion is this is going to address affordability, this really sort of isn't the path to take."

A report last month by the B.C. Real Estate Association said introducing a cooling-off period would cause more problems than it solves, including uncertainty for sellers.

MORE National ARTICLES

Road closure at 88th and 90th Ave on Scott Rd due to cyclist being hit

Road closure at 88th and 90th Ave on Scott Rd due to cyclist being hit
Be advised that 120 Street Northbound between 88 Avenue and 90 Avenue is closed to all traffic while officers investigate the cause of the collision.  The closure will remain in effect for an undetermined amount of time. 

Road closure at 88th and 90th Ave on Scott Rd due to cyclist being hit

Canadian troops ordered to stay out of Ukraine

Canadian troops ordered to stay out of Ukraine
Vice-chief of the defence staff Lt.-Gen. Frances Allen told the House of Commons defence committee on Wednesday that the order came from Gen. Wayne Eyre, chief of the defence staff and it applies to both full-time service members and part-time reservists.

Canadian troops ordered to stay out of Ukraine

Canada under the gun as NATO allies to present defence spending plans by June

Canada under the gun as NATO allies to present defence spending plans by June
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg revealed the new pledge at the end of an extraordinary meeting in Brussels, where leaders from across the alliance had gathered for the second time in a month to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Canada under the gun as NATO allies to present defence spending plans by June

Permanent fixes coming for Coquihalla in B.C.

Permanent fixes coming for Coquihalla in B.C.
A statement from the ministry says it has begun the process to select contractors to design and complete the repairs at three of the seven damaged bridges along the Coquihalla Highway.    

Permanent fixes coming for Coquihalla in B.C.

B.C. patients waiting too long for surgery: doctor

B.C. patients waiting too long for surgery: doctor
Health Minister Adrian Dix told a recent news conference that 99.8 per cent of patients whose surgery was postponed in the first wave of the pandemic have had it, and that's the case for 94.2 per cent of those who did not get their procedure in the second and third waves.

B.C. patients waiting too long for surgery: doctor

269 COVID19 cases for Wednesday

269 COVID19 cases for Wednesday
There are 258 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19, and 49 are in intensive care. In the past 24 hours, one new death (Northern Health) has been reported, for an overall total of 2,975.

269 COVID19 cases for Wednesday