Real Estate...Now, really??!! Hmmmm...
People tend to buy Real Estate when everyone else is, we're not kidding,
they buy so fast it will make your head spin. They take risks, subject
free and jump in. On the flip side they hold off buying when everyone else
is.
How is this a good idea to buy Real Estate when prices are going up and a
bad time to buy when prices are down? Guess what the investors do - the
opposite.
This is what we try to educate people about. This is not the stock market.
You are going to be owning this real estate for five, 10, 15 years in most
cases. Unless you are a speculator, this is one of the best times to buy in
ages.
So why is the market so different from last year? Many reasons. Here are
some of them.
Summary Of All Levels Of Government InterventionÂ
2016-2023
In case you are wondering what the government has done to help with the
crazy Real Estate Market. Here are the changes that have impacted the
demand.
2016: Increased PTT to 3% over $2,000,000.
2016: Introduced 2% stress test for high ratio financing.
2016: BC introduced contract restriction on assignments.
2017: Introduced 15% Foreign Buyers Tax.
2017: Mortgage rate increases (3 times).
2017: Introduced an additional 2% on PTT over $3,000,000 (now 5%
PTT over $3,000K).
2017: Vancouver Empty home tax 1% of assessed value.
2018: Introduced 2% stress test for conventional financing.
2018: Increased Foreign Buyers tax an additional 5% to 20%.
2018: Fall - 2% Speculation Tax on Properties in select areas 0.5% BC
residents.
2018: Fall - School tax for homes over $3,000K 1% of Assessed Value.
2020: CPI(Consumer Price Index) May 2020 0.1% increased to 9.1% by June
2022 and 6.5% by
Dec 2022.
2021: Vancouver Empty Home Tax raised to 3% of assessed value and
will Increase to 5% in 2023.
2022-Bank of Canada Rates increased 6 times from 0.5% in March 2022 to
4.25% in December 2022.
2023-Foreign Buyers Ban.
2023-Flipping Rule.
Don't kid yourself into thinking the market will stay low. The fact is
that we have a short supply of housing, and pent up demand. It's only a
matter of time before it really kicks into gear again -get ready to buy now.