Industry News - Page 8 of 33 - Synergy Mortgage

06Dec

Vancouver’s Empty Home’s Tax – declarations due by February 2, 2021

[Vancouver.ca - 2020] Empty Homes Tax due dates Previous years' unpaid tax added to property tax bill: December 31, 2020 Declaration for 2020: February 2, 2021 Empty Homes Tax payment for 2020: April 16, 2020 Properties deemed or declared vacant will be subject to a tax of 1.25% of the property’s assessed taxable value. The city said the tax will climb to three per cent for the 2021 tax year. Each year, every owner of residential property needs to make a property status declaration. This will determine if [...]

Vancouver Real Estate

06Dec

Liberals planning national foreign buyers tax in bid to lower housing prices

[Financial Post - December 2, 2020] In this week's fiscal update, government says plan will benefit first-time homebuyers and put more homes on the market. TORONTO — The Liberal government says it will take steps over the next year to tax foreign homeowners who live outside of Canada as part of a plan to lower housing prices. It’s an idea that has been growing in popularity over the last few years in provinces such as British Columbia, Ontario and Prince Edward Island, [...]

Canada, International Influence, Toronto, Ontario, Vancouver Real Estate

05Dec

Why debt is still a four-letter word for housing markets

[Financial Post - November 10, 2020] One usually expects an increase in job losses to impact housing markets by triggering a decline in sales and mortgage debt. The COVID-19-induced job losses are different. Despite the increase in job losses, sales and mortgage debt have also increased in many cities across Canada. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) in a report released in October warned about elevated household debt levels and the implications for the housing markets. The report said that heavily [...]

Economic Outlook, Toronto, Ontario, Vancouver Real Estate

02Dec

Change made to insurance for B.C. condo owners amid rising premiums

[CTV - December 1, 2020] VICTORIA -- Insurance companies in British Columbia have agreed to end a pricing practice that has been identified as one of the key factors in skyrocketing property insurance premiums for condominiums. Earlier this year, the B.C. Financial Services Authority said premiums have gone up by 40 per cent on average for a number of reasons. Finance Minister Selina Robinson says an agreement to end so-called best terms pricing on Jan. 1 is a positive step. Insuring multi-unit properties [...]

British Columbia

28Nov

How long can interest rates stay low once a vaccine arrives?

[CBC - November 10. 2020] Jubilation over the good news about a vaccine has taken markets by storm. Shortly after the news broke on Monday that the U.S. drugmaker Pfizer had a COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough that appeared 90 per cent effective, the Dow Jones industrial average soared more than 1,500 points, , a rise of more than four per cent. The Toronto market also took off. Canadian oil and gas shares shot up on the prospect of people climbing back into cars for road trips [...]

British Columbia, Canada, COVID-19, Economic Outlook, Vancouver Real Estate

28Nov

10 Changes You Can Make For a Healthier Home

[Best Health Mag - November 18, 2020] Expert Jamie Gold shares the small changes you can make to your home optimize your physical and mental well-being. It’s hard to find a trendier word these days then "wellness." The pursuit of optimal mind and body amazingness is baked into everything from the turmeric lattes we’re supposed to be drinking to the forest bathing we forgot to do because we were too busy counting our steps and wondering if showering counts as self-care. That [...]

Home Design + Decor, Remodel + Renovation, Vancouver Real Estate

28Nov

Builders aim to pandemic-proof new homes

[Western Investor - November 27, 2020] Outdoor elevators, touchless doors, zero-recycled air and changes to open floor plans among design reactions to COVID-19 Vancouver developer Qualex-Landmark is among the first to implement a number of measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in two new residential projects, part of a trend that is gaining traction across North America. “Just as the Spanish flu gave us the vanity room, which originated as a hand-washing basin immediately inside the front entry of a home, [...]

COVID-19, Home Design + Decor, Remodel + Renovation, Vancouver Real Estate

28Nov

Condo listings increase in Greater Vancouver but prices expected to remain flat over next two years

[The Georgia Straight - November 25, 2020] Prices of condos have flattened since the start of the pandemic. Also, the supply of apartment units on the market is rising. Economists have used these terms to describe what is happening with the condo sector. These are accurate, according to Brendon Ogmundson, chief economist for the B.C. Real Estate Association, when asked for his read. Is it time for sellers and condo owners to panic? Not if one appreciates the economist’s historical analysis of the condo [...]

Economic Outlook, Vancouver Real Estate

28Nov

An ‘unprecedented’ housing market maintains strong outlook

[BC Local News - November 27, 2020] Pandemic has had reverse impact on the real estate market Laws of economics would indicate a worldwide recession and pandemic would result in real estate prices and housing demand to drop. But that’s not the case, according to a few local realtors. “It’s unprecedented. We’ve never had this in any kind of market, it doesn’t make sense,” said Ron Antalek of Re/Max Lifestyles Realty in Maple Ridge. Recent Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) statistics for [...]

British Columbia, COVID-19, Vancouver Real Estate

25Nov

Vancouver City Council approves planning for mandatory parking permits for all residential streets

[Daily Hive - November 18, 2020] Vancouver City Council has decided to set forth on a strategy to implement mandatory parking permits on all residential streets across the city, with vehicle owners charged based on the carbon intensity and age of the vehicle. This was one of the strategies outlined by city staff’s Climate Emergency Action Plan (CEAP), which had over 30 strategies individually voted on by city council on Tuesday evening. For the strategy of expanding the mandatory parking permits citywide, [...]

Vancouver Real Estate