Happy New Year 2017 $$$$$$$Kung Hey Fat Choi
  
2016 Real Estate / Mortgage Year in Review
1. Spring in Vancouver the Government imposed a restriction on the assignment of contracts for resale properties,
2. To qualify for home owners mortgage insurance a down payment increase for properties over $500K. 5% down payment up to $500K and 10% down payment up to $1M maximum insured by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
3. The introduction of a 15% foreign buyers Tax implemented in August 2016 Amended Jan 30 2017: Christy Clark says levy will be lifted fo those have a work permit and pay taxes in BC.
4. Federal mortgage rule changes in October created a stress test for buyers with less than 20% down payment. Variable rate mortgages already must qualify at the Bank of Canada interest rate. Now fixed rate mortgages must also qualify at the higher Bank of Canada rate meaning less borrowing power for the consumer.
5. In the fall, the city of Vancouver introduced the Empty Home Tax (affecting investors) Effective Jan 1 2017, subject to a tax of 1% of the property's assessed value.
6. December the BC government announced a 5% first-time buyer down payment, interest free and payment free loan for 5 years which took effect on January 16 2017.
The BC Home Partnership program will meet the buyer's contribution up to 5% of the home's purchase price, to a maximum purchase price of $750 000.
Forecast for 2017 More regulation to follow
The government says it plans to shift some of the risk of defaults against insured mortgages to banks and other lenders.
Ottawa says it's shouldering 100 percent of the cost of a defaulted mortgage is "unique" in the world.
How the government plans to share some of the risk with lenders remains to be seen.
BC Assessments Soar 30-50% in Value
Homeowners seemed to get a huge surprise in the mail with their annual BC Property Assessments increasing dramatically over the past year. These values are based on what was going on in the market 6-months ago.
If you have yet to receive your BC Property Assessment in the mail, you can look it up online at BC Assessment.
Some of you might be going, this is awesome! My house is worth so much!
But....where this will personally affect you are your property taxes potentially increasing.
However, many municipalities are looking at implementing measures to counteract the high tax assessments, so that your actual tax bill may only slightly increase. However, if you do want to appeal your BC Assessment, you have until January 31, 2017. You can appeal here: Appeal BC Assessment.
And if you are 55+ or know anyone who is 55+, paying more hurts hard especially if they are on a fixed income. Please share with everyone you know that there is a special program that allows you to defer your property taxes for as long as they live in their home. Deferring Property Taxes
Assistance Program for BC 1st Time Home Buyers Interest free and payment free loan for 5 yrs
BC Introduces New Program to Help New First Home Buyers
In a move to help BC citizens and residents buy their first home, the BC government announced today that it is launching a new program to augment down payments for first-time buyers.
The B.C. Home Owner Mortgage and Equity Partnership program contributes to the amount first-time homebuyers have already saved for their down payment, providing up to $37,500, or up to 5% of the purchase price, with a 25-year loan that is interest-free and payment-free for the first five years.
Contact me to see if this is for you and how you can qualify.
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