by Macrealty Marketing Team | Sep 13, 2016 | In The News
B.C.’s finance minister, Mike de Jong, urges Canada Revenue Agency to “diligently” enforce the law following a report that speculators are flipping homes in B.C. without paying tax. Business News Network (BNN) invites Jonathan Cooper, Vice President of Operations at Macdonald Real Estate Group to share his opinions.
Tax evasion in B.C. real estate market happening but rare
(To view the video on mobile devices, please click here for direct play on BNN.)
About Macdonald Real Estate Group
Based in Vancouver, Canada, Macdonald Real Estate Group (MREG) has an annual sales volume of over $7 billion and over $2 billion in assets under management. With more than 20 offices and nearly 1,000 staff and REALTORS®, MREG offers a full range of real estate services, including residential and commercial brokerage, property and strata management, project marketing, and the MREG Canadian Real Estate Investment Centre in Shanghai, China. Macdonald Realty is the residential division of Macdonald Real Estate Group. For more information, visit www.macrealty.com.
by Alyssa | Aug 9, 2016 | In The News
While not cheap, these are great options in a crazy market…
Renfew detached home
In their April 2016 edition MoneySense magazine selected their top Vancouver neighbourhoods to buy real estate to see the best return on investment.
After analyzing more than 200 neighbourhoods, we found several communities that offer a chance for future appreciation, all of which have average prices above $1 million. In Ambleside in West Vancouver—our top neighbourhood—a single detached home sold for an average of $2.25 million last year. Even at these prices, homes are still about 14% cheaper, on average, compared to surrounding communities. Moreover, these top neighbourhoods boast a 68% average five-year return—compared to the city’s 51% return for the same time period. While not cheap, our top picks are great options in a crazy market. See the full rankings below. Read the rest of the article here.
The top 10 Metro Vancouver neighbourhoods to look for well-priced homes, according to MoneySense are:
Brentwood Park condo
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To view all active listings in one of these areas simply click the neighbourhood links above.
by Macrealty Marketing Team | Aug 8, 2016 | In The News
The new 15% property purchase tax (the “PTT”) explained.
WHAT IS THE NEW TAX?
It is a property transfer tax of 15% payable by “foreign” buyers IN ADDITION TO the regular property transfer tax at the time a property transfer for residential property is registered in the land title office for properties located in “The Greater Vancouver Regional District” (the “GVRD”). This includes places like Surrey, Richmond, Delta, West Vancouver, Coquitlam, etc. but not Squamish, Whistler, Abbotsford, Vancouver Island, the Okanagan, etc.
So if a foreign buyer buys a $7 million residential property in West Vancouver the total property purchase tax would be:
WHO HAS TO PAY?
The tax has to be paid by “foreign entities”. That means foreign citizens, foreign companies and taxable trustees. Canadian citizens and Canadian permanent residents do not have to pay. Foreign corporations include companies set up outside Canada and Canadian companies that are controlled by foreign persons or by foreign companies.
WHAT SORT OF TRANSACTIONS ARE SUBJECT TO THIS TAX?
The tax is payable in respect of residential properties in the GVRD purchased by foreign buyers on or after August 2, 2016 at the time the transfer is registered in the land title office. It is payable even when the contract was finalized before August 2, 2016 and the parties unaware there would be a new tax.
ARE THERE ANY LOOPHOLES?
Not many. Non-residential property is not subject to the extra tax nor are properties outside the GVRD. Real estate investment trusts and mutual fund trusts are not subject to the extra tax. Penalties of $100,000 for individuals and $200,000 for corporations apply to anyone who participates in illegal tax avoidance. Presumably this includes lawyers, accountants and realtors who assist in illegal tax avoidance.
Written by Peter Scarrow, former immigration lawyer, currently is the Director of Asian Business at Macdonald Real Estate Group.
by Macrealty Marketing Team | Aug 5, 2016 | In The News
Slapping another 15-per-cent sales tax on homes to foreign buyers could cool the red-hot real estate market in higher priced areas of Richmond or Vancouver, but it might take longer to learn of any effect in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.
The announcement by the B.C. government last week saw a rush to complete deals by the Aug. 2 deadline, but Tom Garvey, managing broker with Macdonald Realty, says it will be at least a month before the full effect of the tax is known in Maple Ridge.
“There’s not a huge amount of foreign buyers who are coming out to Maple Ridge,” said Garvey, who said he hasn’t noticed any effect so far in the local market.
But it’s early yet and time will tell.
“Let’s see what happens over the next two to four weeks.”
(more…)
by Macrealty Marketing Team | Aug 4, 2016 | In The News
Greater Vancouver’s real estate market is in the throes of chaos as buyers, sellers and industry insiders try to adapt to a new tax on foreign buyers that went into effect on Tuesday.
Though a recent poll showed nine out of 10 British Columbians back a tax on foreign buyers of residential real estate, many industry insiders and entrepreneurs are lining up against it, saying it risks destabilizing the housing market and Vancouver’s economy.
The tax has even taken on shades of a political controversy, as a prominent Vancouver real estate marketer and provincial Liberal fundraising chief denies he knew in advance the tax was coming.
Vancouver realtor Steve Saretsky told Global News his analysis of MLS data found that detached home sales collapsed by 75 per cent in the few weeks after the provincial government announced it was introducing a 15-per-cent sales tax on foreign buyers of residential real estate in Greater Vancouver.
Saretsky described the market as being in “absolute mayhem.” But other realtors told media it is too soon to tell what the precise impact will be on the housing market.
(more…)
by Macrealty Marketing Team | Aug 3, 2016 | In The News
Jonathan Cooper, Vice President, Operations at Macdonald Real Estate Group joins Bloomberg TV Canada’s Rudyard Griffiths to discuss the impact of the 15 percent property tax for non-Canadian citizens and non-permanent residents in Metro Vancouver.
About Macdonald Real Estate Group
Based in Vancouver, Canada, Macdonald Real Estate Group (MREG) has an annual sales volume of over $7 billion and over $2 billion in assets under management. With more than 20 offices and nearly 1,000 staff and REALTORS®, MREG offers a full range of real estate services, including residential and commercial brokerage, property and strata management, project marketing, and the MREG Canadian Real Estate Investment Centre in Shanghai, China. Macdonald Realty is the residential division of Macdonald Real Estate Group. For more information, visit www.macrealty.com.
