Stats, HST, and other helpful information below:
Hot! Hot! Hot! Early spring market nearly breaks sales record for the month of March....
Click here for complete March Stats
Strong demand means a very busy market in February...
Click here for complete February Stats
Stability conitnues to be the long term trend in Greater Vancouver Real Estate in January...
Click here for complete January Stats
Looking for stats from previous months? Contact Mike at info@mikeoxley.ca
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When purchasing a home in British Columbia there are many costs involved and you need to know what you're up against. Outside of your regular yearly property tax you need to consider:
HST in British Columbia
On July 1st 2010 the Provincial Sales Tax in BC was replaced and harmonized with the GST to create a single 12% tax. The HST has an impact to those people who are building or purchasing a newly constructed home or substantially renovated homes, but does not impact those who are purchasing resale homes.
Purchasers of newly built homes are eligible to apply for additional rebates up to a maximum of $26,250 as a result of the HST. If new home construction spans the July 1, 2010 HST implementation date, further rebates may be available. The aforementioned rebates will largely offset the additional tax that is payable on homes costing less than $525,000. However, the costs are greater for those who have contracted to build or are purchasing a newly constructed home with a value greater than $525,000.
Many homebuilders have included the costs of HST and the associated rebates under the plan directly into the purchase price. In these cases, the rebates normally available to a homebuyer are assigned to the developer. Information about whether the HST and rebates are included in the purchase price is included in the agreement of purchase and sale.
If the developer has not included the HST and associated rebates into the price of the home being built, homebuyers must apply to the federal government for the rebates and wait for the forms to be reviewed and approved. As a result, these amounts must be financed by homebuyers during the intervening period.
Certain costs associated with buying and selling of homes will also be impacted. Such items as legal fees and real estate commissions are now be subject to HST. For further information about how the harmonized sales tax may affect new home purchases can be found at this BC Government website link. Included on the website is a new home purchase HST calculator
http://hst.blog.gov.bc.ca/faqs/new-housing-rebate/
Property Transfer Tax
You pay Property Transfer Tax when you purchase or acquire an interest in a property only. The tax must be paid when you register changes to a certificate of title with the Land Title Office. For example, a change may include adding or deleting a name from the title. There is no PTT when you sell a property.
Property Transfer Tax is different from property tax. You pay property tax on an annual basis for services you receive from your local government, even if no money changes hands.
The amount of tax due depends on the fair market value of the property that is transferred:
- If the fair market value is $200,000 or less, the tax is 1% of the fair market value.
- If the fair market value is greater than $200,000, the tax is 1% of the fair market value up to $200,000, plus 2% on the portion of the fair market value that is greater than $200,000.
For example:
- If fair market value of property is $1,000,000
tax payable is: 1% of $200,000 = $2,000
plus 2% of $800,000 = $16,000
for total tax payable of $18,000
http://www.rev.gov.bc.ca/business/Property_Taxes/Property_Transfer_Tax/ptt.htm