DATE

tax man
Steve Saretsky -

CRA Takes Aim at Condo Assignments & Foreign Buyers With prices escalating out of control in recent years, it has attracted a growing herd of speculators, eager to profit on a historical bull market. And profit they did. Perhaps one of the most lucrative ways to do it is through pre sale condos. The Scheme is a speculator’s dream, allowing buyers to leverage a favourable deposit structure and a rising market to flip the contract at a higher cost before completion. These flips are incredibly difficult for CRA to track especially if the buyer is overseas. A perfect concoction to make a quick buck and dodge the tax boogeyman. Feds Take Developers to Court That dream could be coming to an end. First reported over at BIV, The federal government is taking the developers behind the Marine Gateway project on Marine Drive and the Residences at West on southeast False Creek to court, probing for information on buyers who flipped their presale contracts before construction was completed to verify compliance with the Income Tax Act. This could be the first of many shoes to drop. As many Vancouver developments are being flooded with assignments, such as Kensington Gardens, which has seen

Steve Saretsky -

Vancouver Condo Price to Rent Ratios Exceeds Major US Cities There seems to be no end in sight for Vancouverites hoping for more affordable housing. Vancouver condo prices are accelerating by about 2% each month, while renting isn’t getting any cheaper. According to PadMapper Vancouver was the most expensive city to rent in Canada. In June the median rent price for one bedroom units grew by 2.5%, settling at $2,090, while the median rent price for two bedrooms increased by 2.5% to $3,230. While rent prices have been increasing, they haven’t been able to keep pace with purchase prices. Hardly surprising since you can’t take out a mortgage to pay for rent, therefor rents tend to align much closer to local incomes. Here’s how the price to rent ratio’s shake up in Vancouver compared to a couple big time US cities that Vancouverites love to compare to. One Bedroom Price to Rent Ratio [table id=40 /] Two Bedroom Price to Rent Ratio [table id=41 /] So what does this mean? Here’s how Trulia Interprets Price to Rent Ratio’s: Price-to-Rent Ratio of 15 or less: Buying a home is a better deal than renting for people planning to live in a home

Steve Saretsky -

Demand For the East Side Explodes As Buyers Get Priced Out of the West As prices continue to surge, buyers are being squeezed further and further east. In fact, an incredible shift is underway, particularly amongst younger first time buyers who are desperate to enter the market.  East has become the new West, as hipsters multiply on Main Street. A great migration is underway… In June 2017, 60% of East Vancouver condos sold over asking price, that’s higher than the 53% on the West side. But even more gruesome is the sales to actives ratio in East Vancouver. It reached a mind boggling 148% in June, a new record that has never been seen before. Just for context, a sales to actives ratio of 20% is considered a sellers market. The ten year average for the month of June is 29%, so 148% last month is truly considered a blow off top. One Bedroom Condos Face Explosive Demand The demand for one bedrooms is even more fierce. One bedroom inventory has plummeted 45% year over year, pushing the sales to actives ratio to a whopping 206%. That means for every new listing there are two sales. Buyers Spend Over $96

Steve Saretsky -

Homeowners Could Be Suppressing New Listings In Vancouver & Toronto There’s been much chatter about the apparent bursting of the Toronto real estate bubble. Home sales have plummeted 37%, meanwhile the average sales price has sunk by 14%. Sounds awfully familiar to the Vancouver real estate market after the shock of a foreign buyers tax, doesn’t it? In fact, you could argue things were even worse in Vancouver at one point. Back in January, sales in Vancouver had fallen 39% year over year, with the average sales price having plunged 24% from January 2016. Since then, Vancouver has rebounded nicely, mostly thanks to a purge of new listings. There’s been an extremely close relationship between sales and new listings in Vancouver. As sales plunged, sellers refused to sell in a falling market, slowing the bleeding. At first glance, it looks like Toronto is following a different path, sales have plunged and new listings are soaring, up 16% year over year for June… However, recent data from President of Realosophy Realty, John Pasalis, suggests new listings are now beginning to trend downwards. It begs the question, will Toronto homeowners follow in Vancouver’s footsteps and suppress new listings? Or will further policy

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The Canadian Economy

Steve Saretsky -

CRA Takes Aim at Condo Assignments & Foreign Buyers With prices escalating out of control in recent years, it has attracted a growing herd of speculators, eager to profit on a historical bull market. And profit they did. Perhaps one of the most lucrative ways to do it is through...

Steve Saretsky -

Vancouver Condo Price to Rent Ratios Exceeds Major US Cities There seems to be no end in sight for Vancouverites hoping for more affordable housing. Vancouver condo prices are accelerating by about 2% each month, while renting isn’t getting any cheaper. According to PadMapper Vancouver was the most expensive city...

Steve Saretsky -

Demand For the East Side Explodes As Buyers Get Priced Out of the West As prices continue to surge, buyers are being squeezed further and further east. In fact, an incredible shift is underway, particularly amongst younger first time buyers who are desperate to enter the market.  East has become...

Steve Saretsky -

Homeowners Could Be Suppressing New Listings In Vancouver & Toronto There’s been much chatter about the apparent bursting of the Toronto real estate bubble. Home sales have plummeted 37%, meanwhile the average sales price has sunk by 14%. Sounds awfully familiar to the Vancouver real estate market after the shock...

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The Saretsky Report. December 2022