The City of Vancouver brought in an Empty Homes Tax, also known as the Vacancy Tax, on January 1, 2017 under Vacancy Tax By-law No. 11674.

The tax came into effect January 1, 2018.

All Vancouver home owners have now received a property status declaration from the city and are required to submit a declaration.

The declaration helps the city determine if a property is subject to the Empty Homes Tax.

Deadline and instructions

Home owners must return their declaration by February 2, 2018. These instructions outline how to submit a declaration.

If the city determinesa property is empty, the owner must pay a tax of one per cent of the property’s assessed taxable value.

The Empty Homes Tax doesn’t apply to principal residences or homes rented for at least six months of the year.

The city reports that 55 per cent of home owners have already submitted declarations.

Resources

A Guide to Vancouver’s Empty Homes Tax, July 14, 2017

If you have any questions about the empty home tax, contact me HERE

A majority of the world's housing markets are seeing slowing momentum, and Canada could soon be among them.

Orignal Article HERE

Housing markets around the world are showing signs of losing steam, but Canada's market isn't among them — yet.

The Great White North is still clocking in some of the world's fastest house price growth, though that is likely to come to an end in the first half of this year, amid tough new mortgage rules and higher interest rates.

According to data released this week by the Global Property Guide, a site for residential real estate investors, Canada saw the world's fourth-fastest property price growth in the third quarter of 2017, behind only Iceland, Hong Kong and Macau.

But prices in a majority of housing markets surveyed by GPG have either turned negative or slowed down. The U.K., Beijing, Singapore and Mexico are among the places now seeing falling house prices.

"Globally housing markets are slowing sharply," GPG said in a release Tuesday.

Of 47 housing markets surveyed, 21 recorded lower house prices in the third quarter of 2017 than a year earlier. That's a notable change from the previous quarter, when only 15 countries were showing year-on-year declines.

Two-thirds of all housing markets surveyed showed slowing momentum — either lower prices or slower price growth than earlier. Once-hot New Zealand is now barely eking out any price growth at all.

Meanwhile, "Canada ... is in the middle of a house price boom," the report noted.

That's despite the introduction of foreign-buyers' taxes for the Toronto and Vancouver housing markets, as well as other measures in Ontario's Fair Housing Plan designed to cool house price growth.

Recent data suggests that while the detached-home markets in those cities have slowed down, condos are still seeing strong price growth.

For instance, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reported on Wednesday that benchmark condo prices in the metro area soared nearly 26 per cent in the past year, while detached home prices grew a slower 7.9 per cent.

A perfect storm for Canadian housing

Canada's housing markets are moving into 2018 facing a perfect storm of conditions that could put a damper on activity and add the country to the list of places where residential property is slowing down.

A new "stress test" for borrowers of traditional mortgages comes into effect this month, and it's expected to reduce homebuyers' purchasing power by about 21 per cent. The Bank of Canada estimates that the new rule will disqualify about one in 10 prospective homebuyers.

At the same time, the experts predict the Bank of Canada will continue raising interest rates this year, though there is little agreement as to how quickly that will happen.

A report from credit rating agency DBRS last fall warned Canadian mortgage borrowers risk "payment shock" in the coming years. After years of slowly declining mortgage rates, Canadians can now expect to see mortgage rates start rising in the long term, DBRS said, putting pressure on household finances.

With adverse conditions ahead, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) has downgraded its forecast for Canada's housing market for 2018. It now predicts nationwide home sales will fall by 5.3 per cent in 2018.

"The overwhelming majority of the forecast decline in sales next year reflects an expected decline in Ontario sales, with activity anticipated to remain well below the record levels logged in early 2017," CREA said last month.

It sees house prices staying flat in British Columbia in 2018, while falling 2.2 per cent, on average, in Ontario.

The association estimates that the slowdown in the housing market will take a $1.1-billion bite out of Canada's economy, and will translate into 12,000 fewer jobs.

But CREA doesn't see disaster on the horizon. The group predicts a rebound in Canada's housing market in the second half of the year, once prospective buyers have adjusted to the new mortgage rules and higher interest rates

Original Article HERE

Effective January 1, 2018, home buyers who don't require mortgage insurance — those with a down payment of 20 per cent or more — must qualify for their mortgage at a higher rate.

This new stress test doesn't apply to people renewing their uninsured mortgage.

Canada's Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) announced these rule changes on October 17. Draft changes were released in the summer for public feedback.

Under the new rules, the minimum qualifying rate for uninsured mortgages will be the greater of the Bank of Canada’s five-year benchmark rate or the contractual mortgage rate plus two per cent.

OSFI will also require lenders to enhance their loan-to-value (LTV) limits and restrict certain lending arrangements designed to circumvent LTV limits.

These changes apply to all federally regulated financial institutions.

This is the seventh time since 2008 that the federal government has made mortgage policy changes.

Cameron Muir, BC Real Estate Association chief economist believes this will have a significant impact on the real estate market:

The impact of the new stress test requirement will be to lower the purchasing power of households by up to 20 per cent. Like past tightening of mortgage regulations, we anticipate that the market impact will be sharp but temporary. In the past, we’ve seen home sales decline in the three to nine months following the implementation of tighter mortgage lending standards, with the severity of the impact fading within one year. However, these new regulations impact a larger pool of mortgages and so the impact could be more significant than in the past.

Read the government’s full announcement here.

Original article HERE

If home buying is on your to-do list in 2018, there are some tasks to tackle before you hit the streets. Admittedly, many of these New Year’s Resolutions relate to finances, and rightly so. A home is likely the biggest investment you’ll make in your lifetime, so here are five New Year’s Resolutions that you’ll definitely want to keep this year.

START SAVING FOR YOUR DOWNPAYMENT

This is arguably the biggest, most difficult and most time-consuming part of the home buying process. This about it - the avergae home in Canada costs $504,000. To avoid taking out a high-ratio mortgage, you'll need at least 20 per cent down payment, or $100,800. It's important to start thinking about how you will come up with the money - wehter it's using your RSPs through the first-time Home Buyer's Plan, savings, or financial help from the Bank of Mom and Dad. 

CHECK YOUR CREDIT RATING

This one's important, because your potential mortgage lending will be doing the same. A credit score is a number between 300 an 900 that rates your credit worthiness. According to credit-rating company Equifax, a score of 690 or higher is considerd "good". Lenders will use this score in tandem with other factors, such as your debt-to-income ratio, to determin mortgage eligibility. 

CREDIT CLEAN-UP

Remember that phone ill you forgot to pay a couple of years ago? It can come back to haunt you. Even a one-day-late payment is still considered "late", and can negativly affect your credIT rating - and your potential to qualify for a favourable mortgage. If you're not happy with your credit score, take some time to bring it up to par before you start the pre-qualification process. 

GET PRE-APPROVED FOR A MORTGAGE

You'll want to take advantage of this low interest-rate environment, while you still can. Interest rates will rise sooner or later (some argue sooner!) so getting pre-approved for a mortgage will lock in your rate for 90 days. A mortgage pre-approval is not an obligation to purchase in this time frame, nor are you committed to thatv particular lender. It's just a written confrimation of your lending amount and the promised rate, allowing you  to shop with confidence within a budget you know you can afford. 

START SHOPPING

The Web is a good place ot start your search, but nothing beats first-hand experience. With budget in mind, bundle up and hit the streets to explore different neighbourhoods and the amenities you'll have access to. Do you rely on public transit? Is an active night life important to you? Dayscares and schools?  Parks and rec? Highway access? How close (or far!) do you want to be from family and your work place? Think about your day-to-day needs, and anticipate how they might change over time. 

Last but not least… work with the right real estate agent who has experience in the area and the type of home you plan to purchase.  They will make setting up viewings easy, and be ready and on your side to negotiate the best price when it comes time to finally make an offer.