New Measures in Place for Buying a Comox Valley Property

After a rocky start to the housing market in Canada, many government officials have been working to reduce high-pressure sales. There have been several efforts made in British Columbia over the past few months to combat the scorching real estate market. However, despite their efforts, B.C’s finance minister has declared that there will be another measure put into place that will affect the property market in B.C. In May, there were several recommendations made in an effort to slow the intense competition in the market. Now, one of these measures will be put into effect this coming year. Follow along below to learn more about buying a Comox Valley property with these new measures. 

3-Day Cooling Off Period to be Introduced When Buying a Comox Valley Property.

British Columbia will be implementing a new homebuyer protection period that will go into effect on January 1, 2023. This period has been implemented in order to prevent homebuyers from skipping key aspects of the home buying process. Moreover, this 3-day period will be the first ever introduced in Canada. Government officials are hopeful that the 3-day period will allow buyers the opportunity to have a home inspection, secure financing or take any other steps needed. 

It is evident that many homebuyers have been forced to skip these important steps in order to try and secure a home. Because of how the market has been, the government of British Columbia has decided to take BCFSA’s suggestion to implement a 3-day homebuyer protection period. The plan will help buyers in today’s market and in the future. 

The homebuyer protection plan includes a number of clauses. For example, buyers can still make offers on a home that is conditional on home inspections or financing. Furthermore, there will be a fee for buyers who back out of a deal. The fee will cost $250 for every $100,000. So, a $300,000 property would have a recission fee of $750. 

By giving buyers the opportunity to do their due diligence, officials are optimistic that it will reduce the risk of purchasing the wrong property. This way homebuyers can have an inspection done and avoid purchasing a home that has costly problems. Overall, the protection period is being put into place to ensure that buyers have enough time to make a sound decision on such a life-changing purchase. 

Speculation Tax Expanding to Vancouver Island?

In addition to the announcement of the cooling-off period, there has also been news about B.C expanding its speculation tax to some areas on Vancouver Island. The speculation tax was first introduced in British Columbia in 2018. However, the tax only applied to select municipalities. Come January, the government decided to add six more municipalities that will be subject to this tax.

Speculation and vacancy tax has been designed to help British Columbia turn empty homes into housing for residents. It also ensures that non-Canadians contribute to Canada’s tax system. Specifically those with a foreign income. That being said, most B.C residents are exempt from this tax if their home is their primary residence.  

At the moment, anyone with a vacant residence is required to pay 0.5% of their assessed property value. This increases to 2% for foreigners. The municipalities currently affected by the tax are Kelowna, West Kelowna, Nanaimo, the District of Lantzville, most areas in the Lower Mainland, and Southern Vancouver. 

Once the new year arrives, the provincial government will expand the speculation tax bounds to Lions Bay, Squamish, North Cowichan, Duncan, Ladysmith, and Lake Cowichan. This means that newly affected homeowners will need to declare and claim an exemption for January of 2024. This decision was made in an effort to relax housing markets where pressure was high. 

The B.C finance minister declared that the tax has worked well to help people find places to live. Moreover, the tax aided in lowering the price of the properties. Between 2018 and 2020, there were 18,000 new condo units available for rent because of the speculation and vacancy tax. 

Contact Us Today if you have questions about the new housing rules in Comox!

For more information on these newly added policies on housing in British Columbia, contact us today. We’d be happy to help you find a Comox Valley property that is within your budget. For those who are interested in learning more about real estate in Comox, reach out to us today. We’d be more than happy to help answer any questions that you may have about buying or selling real estate in this area. Let our team of experts help you achieve your real estate goals. We look forward to working with you in the near future!