Blogs

Are you a millennial looking to buy your first home? You’re not alone in the Canadian real estate market. The National Association of Realtors reports that one-third of purchasers are millennial home buyers, and a study of summer data by Point2Homes Canada shows that the “typical” Canadian home buyer is a millennial woman.

On Monday (October 3) federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced changes to the mortgage qualifying rules to obtain a mortgage in Canada. Specifically:

The new B.C. tax on foreign buyers' real estate purchases came into effect on August 2. With the first month of data now available, analysts have already started to see an impact on the Vancouver housing market.

Do you play the lottery week after week, dreaming of becoming an instant multi-millionaire? You’re not alone! In the past fiscal year, the BCLC reports that $636 million was awarded to lottery winners in B.C.

In addition to those daydreams, it might help to have a plan in place for your winnings – just in case! Below we share 6 silly things (and 1 smart thing) that people do after winning the lottery.

You don’t normally buy a lottery ticket. The odds of becoming an astronaut, a celebrity or even the Prime Minister are more likely than winning the jackpot. But this time, the prize was just too good to pass up and you decided to play. Lo and behold, it’s draw day and you’ve won!

While this scenario is still a dream for most of us, it never hurts to know what you should do if you are lucky enough to become a multi-millionaire overnight. The general consensus: don’t change a thing.

Q: How is the government going to monitor the 1-year occupancy detail?

A: As with the First Time Home Buyers (FTHB) exemption, the Ministry will send a letter to the purchaser at the end of the year to confirm compliance, principal residence & owner occupied.

Well it’s a rare occasion when a government actually gives back or agrees to take less of your money, but in BC that’s exactly what happened with the new property transfer tax exemption up to $750,000. In case you didn’t’ hear, going forward from today, if you’re purchasing a new home up to $750,000, you will be exempted from paying the property transfer tax (a savings of $13,000 on a $750,000 purchase), provided the home is new and you are either a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada.