Monday, July 25, 2016

Maria Mak - Burnaby Realtor - Government to introduce a 15 per cent foreign buyer tax effective August 2nd 2016



July 25, 2016
Government to introduce a 15 per cent foreign buyer tax effective August 2

The provincial government will implement a 15 per cent foreign buyer tax on all residential transactions effective August 2, 2016. The tax will be added to the Property Transfer Tax and will apply to all residential properties purchased by foreign nationals or foreign-controlled corporations.
The new tax will be payable on applicable transfers registered with the Land Title Office on or after August 2 regardless of when the deal was completed.

The tax will apply to any transferee that is a foreign national, foreign corporation, or taxable trustee. Foreign nationals are defined as people who aren’t Canadian citizens or have permanent resident status in Canada.

“Housing affordability concerns all of us who live in the region. Implementing a new real estate tax, however, with just eight days’ notice and no consultation with the professionals who serve home buyers and sellers every day needlessly injects uncertainty into the market,” Dan Morrison, Board president said. “Government has had a long time to take action on the affordability issue, yet they decide to bring this new tax in over a long weekend, with no notice, and no time to prepare. It would have been prudent to seek consultation from the people most knowledgeable about the impact.”

Under the new tax, for example, a foreign buyer or foreign-controlled entity will pay an additional $300,000 in tax on a $2 million home.

“To minimize short-term volatility in the market, we’re calling on government to exempt real estate transactions that are in the process of closing from this new tax,” Morrison said. 

Foreign corporations are any corporation not incorporated in Canada, or are incorporated in Canada but controlled in part, or wholly, by a foreign national or corporation. Publicly traded companies are excluded.

Commercial properties are excluded, and mixed-use properties will only pay the tax on the portion of the property’s value that’s for residential use.

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Thursday, July 7, 2016

Maria Mak - Burnaby Realtor - Pancakes and Booze Art Show 2016





Come and join me for this fun event - Pancakes & Booze Art Show - July 14th 2016 from 7:00pm to 12:00am @ Fortune Sound Club - 147 E Pender St (at Main) in Chinatown.

I will be showing and selling some of my drawings and calligraphy. Come draw and write chinese calligraphy with me and have some fun! All proceeds will go to the Cancer Society.

https://www.facebook.com/events/504881063034910/

Maria Mak - Burnaby Realtor - Is there a typical home buyer in Metro Vancouver? | Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver

Is there a typical home buyer in Metro Vancouver? | Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver




Home buyer competition is intense in today’s housing market and multiple offer situations have become commonplace.

These trends have residents wondering, who is buying homes in Metro Vancouver1 today? Are millennials being priced out? Are retirees downsizing? Are investors driving the market?

To shed some light on these questions, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) sends Realtors who represented a buyer in a sale over the previous 30-day period2 a home buyer demographic survey each month. Between 150 and 200 Realtors regularly complete the survey.

“This feedback, while not scientific, gives us a deeper understanding of the trends in the marketplace,” said Darcy McLeod, REBGV president. “We’ve conducted this poll over several years and some consistent themes have emerged.”



Home buyer description



Since 2015, first time home buyers account for 32 per cent of Metro Vancouver home sales, according to the survey, and 21 per cent of home buyers are people moving from one property to another similar property in the region.

Speculation of real estate investor activity is much-discussed in social and traditional media today. REBGV’s survey finds that nearly one in five homes sold to real estate investors last year with domestic investors (15 per cent) making up the largest portion of these purchases. Foreign investors make up less than five per cent of all property sales in the region.





Home buyer demographic



Young families with children are active in today’s market. This group accounts for 34 per cent of all activity and young couples with no children make up 18.5 per cent of all activity.

Retirees (eight per cent) and empty nesters (seven per cent) both represent less than ten per cent of Metro Vancouver home sales according to last month’s survey.





Home buyer residency



The clear majority of buyers, around 82 per cent, are already living in Metro Vancouver when they make their purchase. The next largest group of buyers migrate from other areas in BC and Canada. Roughly eight per cent of home buyers come from outside Canada.



Financing trends



Just over 60 per cent of buyers pay for their homes using traditional mortgages with at least a 25 per cent down payment. Cash purchases and high ratio mortgages make up for the remaining 40 per cent in nearly equal proportions.

“While the volume of home sales has increased in recent months, the characteristics of people buying in our market remains relatively constant according to this monthly research,” McLeod said.





1Areas covered by Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver include: Whistler, Sunshine Coast, Squamish, West Vancouver, North Vancouver, Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Richmond, Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge, and South Delta.

2Data collected from REBGV Market Survey, March 2015-February 2016