As Vancouver's real estate market starts to cool after the implementation of a foreign owner's property tax, the attention has pivoted to the GTA. Will Premier Wynn decide to follow suit in an effort to calm the double digit increases? At this point, she has said, "No". The Federal Government has imposed new real estate guidelines, which might reduce double digit increases in home prices in Oakville as well as in the GTA.
The Trudeau government has announced that it will be closing loopholes that foreign house flippers have used for years, with sellers having to register each time a home is sold regardless of it being a primary residence. A primary residence will now be considered a home that the owner must have been a resident of Canada at the time of the purchase, as well as when the property is sold. If the home is purchased by a corporation, then the owner of the corporation will need to live in the residence. If this test is not met, then capital gains tax will have to be paid.
The Federal Government will also be tightening mortgage rules; which is something the Stephen Harper Government tried to use as a way to stem ever increasing home prices. The new rules will require purchasers to meet a financial stress tests several percentage points above what their actual mortgage will be. What happened during Harper was that first time buyers were shut out of the market, as home prices continued to escalate.
According to the Oakville Milton District Real Estate Board Market Watch for September 2016, Oakville real estate prices continued to soar as the average price of property hit $1,118, 572 which is roughly a one percent increase over last month, and a 30 plus percent increase over the average price of a home sold in September 2015. The number of units sold this month is down by 2.5 percent and inventory of affordable homes in Oakville is extremely tight.
Oakville has always prided itself on being a city that thinks like a town; however, if there is no place for the average home owner to purchase, what will happen to the community in the long run. There are already residents in Glen Abbey noticing homes purchased and then are left vacant by foreign owners. As citizens we have to decide what we feel is best for Oakville, and let our provincial elected officials know (Minister of Labour, Kevin Flynn and MPP Indira Naidoo-Harris).
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