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COVID-19 Impact: BC Real Estate – Real Estate and Construction – Canada – Mondaq News Alerts

Published

4 years ago

April 28, 2020

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With the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in business closures across
British Columbia (BC), both the BC and federal governments are
taking steps, including those to address real estate-related
concerns, to support businesses struggling with the economic
fallout of COVID-19. Below is a roundup of these recent real estate
developments relating to COVID-19 that are of relevance to
businesses in BC.

Reduction of School Tax Rates for Commercial Properties

On March 23, 2020, the BC government introduced its $5 billion
COVID-19 Action Plan, which includes a real estate tax reduction
for businesses. Specifically, the BC government announced a
reduction to the provincial school property tax rate for commercial
properties (Classes 4, 5, and 6) by 50% for the 2020 tax
year.¹ It is anticipated that this reduction will
provide $500 million in immediate relief for businesses that own
their property and will allow commercial landlords to pass these
savings onto their tenants in triple-net leases.²

Reduction of Commercial Property Tax Bills

On April 16, 2020, the BC government announced that it is
“providing further support by making additional temporary
property tax changes to provide province-wide relief for business
and local governments.”⁴ Specifically, the BC
government introduced a further reduction to the provincial school
property tax rate for commercial properties to achieve an average
25% reduction in the total property tax bill for most
businesses.⁵ This new reduction enhances the previously
announced 50% reduction to the provincial school property tax rate,
discussed above.

Additionally, the BC government postponed the date that late
payment penalties apply for commercial properties in Classes 4, 5,
6, 7, and 8 to October 1, 2020.⁶ This postponement will
provide businesses and landlords with more time to pay their
reduced property tax, without penalty.

Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance

On April 16, 2020, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled the
Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance program. The program is
intended to provide rent support to small and medium-sized
businesses that have been impacted by COVID-19 for the months of
April, May, and June 2020.⁷ The federal government will
be working closely with the provincial governments to bring the
program to fruition. Additionally, the Minister of Finance, Bill
Morneau, stated that the federal government would be offering
loans, including forgivable loans, to commercial landlords who
offer rent reductions to businesses across Canada. Further details
on the program are anticipated in the upcoming days.

The Cassels
Real Estate Group is continuing to monitor the developments
relating to COVID-19 that impact businesses and will provide
updates as they become available.

Additional resources related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
can be found here.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.

Footnotes

1. Government of British Columbia, “COVID-19 Action
Plan: BC’s first steps to support people, businesses”
(March 23, 2020), BC Government (website), online: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2020PREM0013-000545.
2.Ibid.
3.Government of British Columbia, “New COVID-19 supports for
businesses, local governments” (April 16, 2020), BC
Government (website), online: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2020FIN0020-000703.
4.Ibid.
5.Ibid.
6.Kerri Breen, “Coronavirus: Trudeau promises rent relief for
small and medium-sized businesses” (April 16, 2020),
Global News (website), online: https://globalnews.ca/news/6826484/coronavirus-trudeau-business-rent/.
7.Ibid.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.

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Real eState

Mortgage rule changes will help spark demand, but supply is ‘core’ issue: economist

Published

2 days ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – One expert predicts Ottawa‘s changes to mortgage rules will help spur demand among potential homebuyers but says policies aimed at driving new supply are needed to address the “core issues” facing the market.

The federal government’s changes, set to come into force mid-December, include a higher price cap for insured mortgages to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.

The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.

CIBC Capital Markets deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal calls it a “significant” move likely to accelerate the recovery of the housing market, a process already underway as interest rates have begun to fall.

However, he says in a note that policymakers should aim to “prevent that from becoming too much of a good thing” through policies geared toward the supply side.

Tal says the main issue is the lack of supply available to respond to Canada’s rapidly increasing population, particularly in major cities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17,2024.

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National housing market in ‘holding pattern’ as buyers patient for lower rates: CREA

Published

3 days ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

OTTAWA – The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of homes sold in August fell compared with a year ago as the market remained largely stuck in a holding pattern despite borrowing costs beginning to come down.

The association says the number of homes sold in August fell 2.1 per cent compared with the same month last year.

On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, national home sales edged up 1.3 per cent from July.

CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart says that with forecasts of lower interest rates throughout the rest of this year and into 2025, “it makes sense that prospective buyers might continue to hold off for improved affordability, especially since prices are still well behaved in most of the country.”

The national average sale price for August amounted to $649,100, a 0.1 per cent increase compared with a year earlier.

The number of newly listed properties was up 1.1 per cent month-over-month.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.

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Two Quebec real estate brokers suspended for using fake bids to drive up prices

Published

1 week ago

September 11, 2024

Anne Joseph

MONTREAL – Two Quebec real estate brokers are facing fines and years-long suspensions for submitting bogus offers on homes to drive up prices during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Christine Girouard has been suspended for 14 years and her business partner, Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin, has been suspended for nine years after Quebec’s authority of real estate brokerage found they used fake bids to get buyers to raise their offers.

Girouard is a well-known broker who previously starred on a Quebec reality show that follows top real estate agents in the province.

She is facing a fine of $50,000, while Dauphinais-Fortin has been fined $10,000.

The two brokers were suspended in May 2023 after La Presse published an article about their practices.

One buyer ended up paying $40,000 more than his initial offer in 2022 after Girouard and Dauphinais-Fortin concocted a second bid on the house he wanted to buy.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.

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