Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. is forecasting 11,000 new-home starts for 2010 in Metro Vancouver, a 16-per-cent bounce back from the 9,500 new-home starts it expects to see by the end of this year.
Photograph by: Vancouver Sun files, .British Columbia’s residential construction sector will end 2009 at a near-dismal low, but 2010 should be a little bit better, according to the latest forecast from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

The national housing agency expects builders to break ground on 22,000 new homes in the province next year, according to its forecast released Thursday, which is a 35-per-cent increase from the 16,250 units it is forecasting will be started by the end of 2009.

That 2009 figure, however, is less than half the number of starts the province counted in 2008, and is only about two-thirds of the five-year average of starts from 2004 through 2008.

Canada Mortgage and Housing (CMHC) analyst Robyn Adamache said construction is currently down considerably more, some 70 per cent in Metro Vancouver alone, but believes those numbers will improve as builders respond to the more active housing resale market that has developed over the last few months.

“I think most developers are keeping an eye pretty closely on resales,” Adamache said. “They’re seeing sales heating up again with fewer active listings. And prices are starting to move higher again, so [developers] may be thinking about their next projects.”

Peter Simpson, CEO of the Greater Vancouver Home Builders’ Association, said CMHC might see some of that improvement in starts in its August figures as some of his organization’s members have managed to retool, reduce prices and continue to sell homes.

“It’s a mixed bag,” Simpson said. “Some members are being risk averse, others are stepping in front of the rest and showing some confidence, and others have just got their doors closed right now.”

He added that CMHC’s forecast numbers are no surprise to builders as they watched resales spiral downward last year and adjusted accordingly.

“In 2010, they’re expecting some improvement, and that’s a result of what they are seeing in increased sales levels,” Simpson said.

Adamache said a general improvement in the economy and consumer confidence and continued population in-migration (35,000 new residents expected for the Lower Mainland alone) should support higher levels of starts in 2010.

In Metro Vancouver, CMHC is forecasting 11,000 new-home starts for 2010, a 16-per-cent bounce back from the 9,500 new-home starts it expects to see by the end of this year.

That 2009 figure is also slightly less than half the number recorded by the region in 2008.

In Abbotsford, CMHC is forecasting 450 starts in 2010, up from expected 350 starts by the end of this year, but still only a fraction of the 1,285 starts recorded in 2008.

For Victoria, CMHC is forecasting 1,320 starts in 2010, which is an increase from the 930 it expects to have been started by the end of 2009, but is still less than the 1,905 recorded in 2008.

Nationally, CMHC forecast housing starts will reach 141,900 this year and increase to 150,300 for 2010. This is a significant improvement from the earlier part of this year, when the annualized pace fell to less than 118,000 in April.

Still, these expected numbers fall well short of the pace of more than 200,000 housing starts that held steady between 2002 and 2008.

By Derrick Penner, Vancouver
depenner@vancouversun.com

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Real estate prices rose again in August and were approaching their levels of a year ago, numbers released Wednesday by the Greater Vancouver and Fraser Valley real estate boards showed.

Market watchers, surprised by the strength of the rebound, said it appeared buyers were cashing in on record-low mortgage rates while they last.

Sales set records in July and stayed hot in August. The question now is whether the market can keep up the pace.

“Before I would call this a complete recovery I would want to see a couple of months of data,” Robyn Adamache, a market analyst with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said in an interview.

Adamache added that there now are five months worth of data showing an upward trend, but “it remains to be seen whether this was just a one-shot deal where everybody was pre-approved for their [low-rate] mortgages and they basically jumped into the market, and whether or not [the market] can be sustained for the rest of the year.”

However, Adamache said on balance, Metro Vancouver’s average property prices, since their trough last March, have climbed back to within three percentage points of their peak.

She estimated that from peak to trough, average prices fell some 15 per cent.

Record-low mortgage rates, which fell as low as 3.65 per cent on five-year fixed-rate mortgages before rising again after June 1, played a big role in the market.

“If I had to put [market performance] on one thing, I would have to say interest rates,” Carolyn Heaney, Vancouver area manager of mortgage development for the Bank of Montreal, said in an interview.

Heaney said her mortgage lenders had a lot of clients who had been approved for mortgages with the low rates, and had 90 days to buy homes and close their purchases before their pre-approvals expired.

“There were certainly a lot of people who jumped off the fence in order to keep their rates,” she said.

Kevin Lutz, B.C. mortgage manager for RBC Financial Group, said that despite the recession, a bit of consumer confidence has been returning to the market. Lutz said the past few months have seen buyers cram almost a year’s worth of buying activity into a short period.

In the area of Metro Vancouver covered by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV), that translated into 3,441 sales through the Multiple Listing service, a 120-per-cent increase from last August, when the region saw 1,568 sales.

Prices in Metro continued to edge up with the benchmark price (the average price of the typical property sold) for detached homes hitting $732,656 in August. That was just 0.7 per cent below last year’s benchmark price for detached homes.

Some communities saw detached-home prices rise above their levels of a year ago. On Vancouver’s west side, for example, the benchmark of $1.4 million in August was three per cent higher than in the same month a year ago.

The $685,746 benchmark for detached homes on Vancouver’s east side was 3.2 per cent higher than a year ago.

New Westminster, Pitt Meadows and the Sunshine Coast also saw detached home prices higher than a year ago.

“It has been surprising,” REBGV president-elect Jake Moldown said. “I don’t think if you had talked to any of us in January that we would be expecting sales levels to be where they are today.”

However, he said with price adjustments and low interest rates combining to reduce mortgage payments, a lot of first-time buyers have jumped into the market, helping set off a chain reaction of upward movement.

In the Fraser Valley, realtors recorded their second busiest August on record, with agents racking up 1,786 sales through the MLS in August, up 96 per cent from 910 sales in the same month a year ago, when the market was sliding rapidly.

For the period of June through August, the board said valley realtors saw 5,857 MLS sales, which outpaced the same period of 2007, but is still far from matching 2005’s 6,866 sales for June, July and August.

Fraser Valley realtors saw the benchmark price (the average price of a typical property sold) for single-family homes creep up 3.8 per cent over the past three months to $483,839 in August, not quite erasing the losses of the past year. That price was still 3.5 per cent below last August’s $501,317 benchmark.

depenner@vancouversun.com

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties increased 4.9 per cent to 4,544 in August 2009 compared to August 2008 when 4,331 new units were listed. Total active listings in Greater Vancouver currently sit at 11,937, down 33 per cent from August 2008.

“The return of confidence to our market has brought a high volume of home sales over the last few months and has also made determining home prices a little more challenging,” said Scott Russell, REBGV president. “The number of residential home sales this summer has been comparable to activity seen in the five years preceding 2008. While that’s great news, from the variations in activity we’re seeing across areas I’d say the market is still trying to find its own balance.”

Since the beginning of the year, the MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver has increased 11.4 per cent to $539,600 from $484,211. However, home prices compared to August 2008 levels are down 1.1 per cent.

Sales of detached properties in August 2009 increased 155.5 per cent to 1,367 from the 535 units sold during the same period in 2008. The benchmark price, as calculated by the MLSLink Housing Price Index®, for detached properties declined 0.7 per cent from August 2008 to $732,656.

Sales of apartment properties increased 97.8 per cent last month to 1,464, compared to the 740 sales in August 2008. The benchmark price of an apartment property declined 1.4 per cent from August 2008 to $369,263.

Average Price Graph
Attached property sales in August 2009 increased 108.2 per cent to 610, compared with the 293 sales during the same month in 2008. The benchmark price of an attached unit declined 0.9 per cent between August 2008 and 2009 to $459,159.
Download the complete stats package by clicking here.

5 Year Trend
The Real Estate industry is a key economic driver in British Columbia. In 2008, 24,626 homes changed hands in the Board’s area generating $1.03 billion in spin-offs. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver is an association representing more than 9,400 REALTORS®. The Real Estate Board provides a variety of membership services, including the Multiple Listing Service®. For more information on real estate, statistics, and buying or selling a home, contact a local REALTOR® or visit www.rebgv.org.

Around the world there is positive news in India where there is a huge demand of the population for real estate that is the main factor for the real estate boom–and also in the Middle East where the population growth in 10-15 years is estimated to triple. The European real estate market mirrors what is happening in the U.S. There are some signs of improvement in Africa and Latin America but not as strong as in Canada, India and China. The Canadian Real Estate Association reported that realtors sold 50,270 units sold via the multiple listing service last month. That’s an 18.2 per cent jump from a year ago. It also marked the first time sales had topped 50,000 in July. Sales of existing single-family homes jumped 55 percent in the 2009 second quarter compared to the 2009 first quarter. Realtors sold 18,141 homes in the second quarter.

In China the strength of the property sector has been another big surprise. Property sales were up 53% in the first six months from a year earlier, according to a survey commissioned by the statistics bureau and published in the China Information News, while nationwide prices averaged across 70 cities climbed year on year in June. This masks the fact that in second and third cities prices have been strengthening much more. Property normally accounts for about 25% of fixed asset investment in China and is a key form of wealth holding for most Chinese. Optimism about housing prices will translate into greater consumer confidence.

URL to article: http://www.indianrealtynews.com/real-estate-india/real-estate-sector-recovering-worldwide.html

The turnaround : “Canada should see a big bounce in the third quarter”

Avery Shenfeld, chief economist for the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, said prior to Statscan’s official release: “Mark it on your calendar – the Canadian recession ended in June.”

The economy has turned the corner, he said, “supported by growth in retailing, manufacturing, wholesaling and financial services, and is likely to be followed by more of the same over the summer.”

CIBC had expected more robust growth of 0.3 per cent in June, but held to its view that the recession is finally over.

“True, the second quarter GDP tumbled at a 3.4 per cent annualized pace, a larger drop than expected…But the good news is that Canada’s output has stopped contracting,” CIBC economist Krishen Rangasamy said in a research note.

“And with the auto plant restarts in July, coupled with inventory replenishments on both sides of the 49th parallel, Canada should see a big bounce in the third quarter.”

Retail sales up, expect back-to-school boost

Canadian retail sales increased by 1 per cent in June. The increase was fuelled primarily by higher gasoline prices. Still, economists took this as a sign that consumers are feeling more confident.

The Bank of Nova Scotia said Monday this momentum is expected to continue. Back-to-school spending is firmer than had been predicted, with parents expected to spend an average of $310, about the same as last year.

“Spending by Canadian households on school-related goods and services typically is more stable than other discretionary purchases in both good and not-so-good times,” said Aron Gampel, Scotiabank’s deputy chief economist.

Housing momentum builds

After a strong second quarter, the Canadian Real Estate Association has revised its outlook for the balance of the year, lifting its forecast for the number of resale homes trading hands to 432,600 in 2009, an annual decline in activity of just 0.4 per cent compared to levels set in 2008. The revision marks a significant upward change from the previously forecast decline of 14.7 per cent.

“Sales activity started off the third quarter on a strong footing. The difference in the resale housing market now, compared to the beginning of the year, is night and day, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the West,” association president Dale Ripplinger said.

Doug Porter, deputy chief economist at the Bank of Montreal agreed: “Some large cities will report home sales later this week, with early indications the momentum continued in August.”

Unemployment: still a concern

Despite emerging signs of economic growth, “employers continued to rain pink slips in recent months,” CIBC’s Avery Shenfeld said in an economic forecast. Still, he predicted, “a return of some factory workers, hiring in some service sectors like real estate, and the end of a City of Toronto strike should have been enough to finally push job creation into the plus side.”

However, BMO’s Mr. Porter sees few signs of real recovery in the labour market just yet and expects that job losses continued in August, with the unemployment rate nudging up to 8.7 per cent.

United Steelworkers economist Erin Weir noted that, while there was a glimmer of hope that the economy grew slightly in June, there will be a lag before hiring picks up. “Employers can begin increasing production by having existing employees work more hours and by taking advantage of productivity improvements. Only after these avenues are exhausted will employers start hiring again,” Mr. Weir said.

The pace of recovery? Sluggish

Mr. Porter said in a research note that the pick-up in auto production from extreme lows and some inventory rebuilding should help support growth of about 2.5 per cent in the third quarter.

“However, this recession …ranks right up there among the most serious downturns of the post-war era, and the strength and sustainability of the recovery remains an open question.”

Toronto-Dominion Bank economist Diana Petramala said improvement in United States demand for commodities such as coal, petroleum and industrial products will help support Canadian exports. And strength in Canada’s resale housing market “should act as a continued source of support to residential investment and consumer spending,” she said.

“Moreover, the recent recovery in asset prices through home price appreciations and rallies in equity markets will help give consumers the confidence they need to continue the momentum in spending.”

However, she added, the recovery will be sluggish. “In particular, the strength of the Canadian dollar will weigh down the recovery in exports.”

Virginia Galt

Globe and Mail Update
Monday, Aug. 31, 2009 09:15AM EDT

VANCOUVER — Spurred by record-low mortgage rates, provincial real estate sales should continue to rise through the remainder of 2009 from last year’s market fall, according to the B.C. Real Estate Association’s latest forecast.

Home sales have doubled since January’s near collapse in sales, association chief economist Cameron Muir said in a news release. He expects transactions recorded through the Multiple Listing Service to climb some 15 per cent from 2008 to 79,400 units.

Prices, although edging up from their declines through the last half of 2008, will remain below last year’s levels before showing slight gains again in 2010, according to Muir’s forecast.

The provincial average price for a home of $451,200 will be one per cent below the 2008 level, and should show a one-per-cent gain to $457,600 in 2010.

“When we look at the economy itself, we’re coming out of the recession, albeit slowly,” Muir said in an interview. “And the amount of demand we’ve obviously seen — year-to-date and going forward — [justifies] sales around or below the 10-year-average.”

B.C.’s 10-year average for housing resales is about 83,000 units.

Economic forecasts continue to indicate that the province’s recovery from recession will be slow, however. Central 1 Credit Union was the latest with its forecast that B.C. will experience below-average growth until 2012.

Muir’s expectation is for provincial unemployment to average 7.7 per cent this year, and go down only marginally next year.

However, he does expect the slow recovery from recession to start creating jobs that will help support demand for housing at that 10-year-average level.

Muir sees housing as a brighter spot in the economy, which will likely spill over into other areas, such as retail sales.

However, economist Helmut Pastrick, with Central 1 Credit Union, believes Muir’s forecasts are somewhat conservative given the pace of sales in recent months.

In answer to the question why, Pastrick replied, “Interest rates. It’s amazing the power of those low mortgage rates.”

Over the short term, with the Bank of Canada vowing to keep its trend-setting overnight rate at 0.25 per cent until the middle of next year, there seems to be little risk of mortgage rates rising.

Muir noted that most first-time homebuyers lock in mortgages for five-year fixed-rate terms, so they should be insulated from rising rates.

However, “if interest rates climb higher than expected, that’s going to pull demand out of the market as [a buyer’s ability to pay mortgage costs] is eroded.”

In a recent report, Scotiabank Economics senior economist Adrienne Warren noted that the average new mortgage payment in Canada in 2009 declined 26 per cent from its peak in 2007, due almost entirely to the reduction in mortgage interest rates.

Pastrick said the increase in interest rates should “be a self-correcting mechanism,” and if the province does not fall into the dreaded double-dip recession, they should rise as the overall economy improves.

“In a broader sense, at some point [low rates] run their course,” Pastrick said. “We know there will be a rate-normalization phase when economic growth does pick up.”

The recovery of sales, however, hasn’t been shared equally across the province. Metro Vancouver, Victoria and the Fraser Valley have seen relatively sharp rebounds, while the South Okanagan, the Kelowna to Vernon region and Kamloops are forecast to see much slower recoveries.

Muir expects housing starts to remain depressed for the remainder of this year, and not recover by a lot next year.

His forecast is for 14,800 new -home starts by the end of 2009, which is only slightly higher than the most recent low of 2000.

Muir added that if some of those starts do not materialize and they fall below 14,400, that will be the lowest level of new-home construction in the province since 1962.

Source: Vancouver Sun

　　本国居民消费信心指数上升

　　咨议局表示，进入夏季之后，越来越多新出台的正面消息、数据和预测，以及国际（美国）经济的大形势转好，无疑大大鼓舞了人们的信心，令他们对经济复苏十分乐观。

　　据咨议局在本月6日至16日做的这项调查，本国居民的消费信心指数（consumer confidence index）为88.4点，比上一次调查的时候上升了5.5 点，为一年多来的最高水平。同时，这也是第6个月连续上升；而从今年年初到现在，该指数已经累计升高18.2点。

　　消费信心指数增加，体现在人们对商品购买欲的提升。例如，咨议局这次便发现，大多数被调查者都认为现在是购买大件商品（如汽车等）的最佳时机，这也是自2008年4月以来，对这一问题答“是”的人数超过答“不是”的人数。

　　报告还发现，本地居民对个人或家庭未来的财务状况也有信心。和前一次调查相比，更少的被调查者表示自己担心未来六个月内的财务情况会恶化；不过，现在的就业形势和继续走高的失业率显然也无法让人太过乐观，大部分人还是预计自己在今后半年内的财务情况和现在没有太多变化。

　　同时，本国居民对就业方面的态度也日趋乐观。调查显示，大约25.6%的人觉得在未来的半年内，找工作会越来越困难；但在6个月以前，这一比例曾经高达54.5个百分点。

　　不过，咨议局还是颇为谨慎地指出，尽管人们对财务状况和就业两方面的信心增强，但是还是颇有些不足，对经济的担心也并没有完全消失。

　　在主流媒体评论版上，也有评论人士提出了较为保守的意见，称本国居民愿意消费，并非收入增加、也不是财务状况变好，而是由政府对经济的刺激政策，以及商家的推销策略所带动的；事实上，现在劳动力市场的形势并没有好转、而居民破产案也在增加，这些都是应该及时注意的隐患。

　　CREA调高对地产业的预期

　　同日，加拿大房地产协会（The Canadian Real Estate Association）也大幅调高今年房市预测值，预计今年将有432,600 套二手房交易，仅比2008年少0.2%，而据该协会早前的预测，今年二手房交易可能下降14.7个百分点。从省区来看，卑诗省上升幅度最大，可达 5.2%；阿省为上升2.5%；安省为0.5百分点。

　　同时，CREA还调高了对房价的预期，表示今年全国的平均房价可能上升1.5%至309,500元，而该协会早前则预测今年的房价会比去年下降0.3个百分点。

　　CREA表示，这次调高预期是因为市场在第二季度的交易量超过预期；同时，在第三季度也有一个良好、强健的开始，并且良好的形势可能会持续整个季度。

　　CREA主席利普林格（Dale Ripplinger）表示，现在的房地产市场、尤其是二手房市场的形势，已经和年初的时候有着天壤之别；而从省区来看，加西的形势又好于加东。

　　不过，CREA下调了对2010年房产销售额的预期，估计该年全年的交易量为455,400所，升幅为5.3个百分点。他们表示，这是由于现在有利的利率吸引了不少买家在今年入市，可能会影响明年的交易。

　　美国的经济形势出现好转

　　另据美国昨天商务部公布的资料，经过修正的第二季该国 GDP比去年同期下滑1.0%，好于前一季的大幅下滑6.4%，基本符合和上月公布的初估值。

　　GDP报告显示，企业降低库存程度较先前预期更为积极。第二季企业库存锐减1592亿美元，创史上最大降幅，也远高于上月的预期。排除存货的影响，当季GDP则是成长了0.4%，为2008年第二季以来首见成长。

　　该国劳工部公布的报告则显示，上周初请失业金人数下降1万人，至57万人，意味著企业已不再像年初那样地积极裁员。

　　业内指出，美国经济看来正脱离1930年大景气萧条以来为时最长、也最为严重的衰退。不过，这些相当正面的资料并未对美国股市造成太大影响，反而是油价变化主导股市方向。

来源: 无忧网

报告显示，在经历了连续8个月下跌的下跌熊市后，6月加拿大房屋价格上涨1.5%，而之前的5月份也出现上涨，同时即使受经济衰退冲击最大的地区房价也开始出现反弹。

“房地产最糟糕的时期正在过去。”全国银行（National Bank）高级经济学家Marc Pinsonneault称。

Pinsonneault认为，房地产市场的显著转好以及连续两个月的价格上升，意味着自去年8月房价高峰以来全国平均6.8%的房价下跌势头开始出现根本性扭转，而并不仅仅只是暂时性好转。

“综合考量房价开始慢慢好转的种种迹象，加上经过调整后的现有房价水平，可以认为目前的上升势头有坚实的基础。”多伦多道明银行证券高级经济策略师Charmaine Buskas也持相同看法。

来源: 北美中文网

　　房市成交量再创记录

　　据怡富地产公司属下经纪人刘必达提供的信息，大温房地产业这一轮的火爆，开始于今年5月，表现为房屋成交量大幅攀升，成交时间明显缩短，成交价格快速抬高。在成交量方面，7月整个大温成交4000多套，创下单月成交历史记录；成交时间由之前楼市惨淡期间的2、3个月到现在平均28天成交1套，有的房子放盘后仅1周即卖出；成交价格与去年同期相比，跌幅越来越小，从今年3月14%的最高跌幅，一路滑落到7月份的5%。“跌幅的收窄意味着房价的上升，亦显示出持续而庞大的需求”，刘必达这样说。

　　怡富地产公司另一位经纪人金星进一步说，大温房地产销售历史上，只有两次单月售房超出4千套，1次是在2003年，单月成交4，002套，另1次就是今年7月，成交4，114套，比原有记录多出了112套，称得上是成绩亮丽，尤其这一纪录出现在7月份，而约半年前大温房市尚徘徊在低迷黯淡的萧瑟之中，故此这个成绩实在是来得珍贵又令人惊喜。

　　景象再现：买房变抢房

　　许多房地产经纪人谈起自己近期帮客户买房下Offer的经历，不约而同都用了一个字：“抢”，而且人人随口就能道出几个买房变抢房的例子。

　　刘必达介绍说，去年底一幢位于温东的房龄达84年的旧独立屋以近60万的开价放到市场上，由于没有什么买气，价格一路下降，降到49万9千，放盘放了3 个多月，始终卖不出去，屋主只好作罢。今年5月，此屋又拿出来卖，开价仍为49万9千，刚放盘第2天，前来看房的人就多达100多个，按地产中介的话说，房子都要被踏塌了，最后，一位买家不附加任何条件以56万7千“抢”得这房。

　　又如，在本拿比铁道镇，一幢政府估价70万的独立屋，以 73万9千的开价放盘，刘必达的客户看中了，一心想买下，于是他们找了屋主的朋友私下牵线搭桥，与屋主谈好73万成交，不料另外一个买家拿出势在必得的架势，开出76万5千的Offer，屋主在更高价位之前自然变卦。

　　房地产经纪人陈友仕说，华裔一直对温西情有独钟，主要是那一带居住环境好，名校多，属于高尚地带。房价居高不下的卑诗大学（UBC）校园一带的房子，在这轮热潮中仍然承继着以往“皇帝女不愁嫁”的态势。陈友仕的一位大陆新移民客户，想在UBC一带买房，价位定在三、四百万。陈友仕知道在UBC有一处房子在卖，叫价630多万，因与客户提供的价位上的预期相差较远，所以陈友仕没有介绍这幢房子，谁知这位客户自己跑去看了，而且还很钟意，于是带着600万整的还价去与买方接洽，一问才知这屋子在1个星期前就由别的买家下 Offer 要走了。

　　近期大温房地产的火热，从地产经纪们直线上升的业绩也可见一斑。刘必达告诉说，最近大温大部分地产中介的售房业绩都上升了20%至30%，他称自己今年半年来做成的房屋买卖，已经超过了去年一年的总数。怡富地产公司资深经纪人梁立有坦承，去年12月和今年1月份的时候，根本无生意做，可是现在情况大为好转了，仅在过去1个月里，他已卖出了9间物业。

　　房地产火热形势探因

　　加拿大房地产协会（CREA）近期公布的报告认为，破纪录的低房贷利率和房价是导致市场火爆的主要原因。

　　据悉，在央行降息至历史最低点的影响下，各大商业银行纷纷调低按揭率。

　　目前，在某些贷款机构，最常见的5年期固定按揭利率被设定在4%左右，处于历史的低水平；而和央行利率挂钩的浮动按揭率，则被设在3%上下。同时，上市住房总量减少以及经济形势的好转也促使顾客纷纷出手买房。

　　由于本国存在大量的潜在购房人群（主要是移民），当越来越多的人意识到按揭利率和房价已经触底，并且随着经济形势的进一步好转，房价和利率在未来很有可能逐渐上涨，“现在正是买房好机会”的舆论就应运而生。而按照房地产市场的一个普遍的说法，消费者都有“买涨不买跌”的倾向，当一部分人开始动起来，使市场变得活络、房价开始提升之时，这种走升的态势又带动和鼓舞更多的人入市。

来源: 环球华网

Monthly maintenance fees cover the common costs of looking after a condominium complex, from landscaping and janitorial to heating systems and elevator maintenance.

All services now subject only to the five-per-cent GST will be subject to the full 12-per-cent HST after next July 1.

“The potential here is that strata corporation budgets and fees are going to be raised anywhere from three to seven per cent to cover costs,” Tony Gioventu, executive director of the Condominium Homeowners Association of B.C., said in an interview.

“The consumer is going to pay those bills.”

Gioventu said the strata-corporations’ tax picture is still a little unclear since the province has not yet brought forward its legislation to harmonize the GST with the provincial sales tax.

His organization is in discussions with the provincial Ministry of Finance and Canada Revenue Agency to find out exactly what the HST will apply to.

He said the added tax burden will vary from condominium complex to complex, depending on how much the governing strata corporations rely on contractors to provide services.

Gioventu said some smaller strata corporations manage their own affairs among the condominium owners, and have few needs for outside services.

Most, however, hire property management firms, and even those companies’ fees will go from being subject only to the GST to being subject to the additional amount of the HST.

“Strata corporations are end users, so they have no input tax credit system or GST rebate at the present time,” said Kevin Thom, executive director of the Strata Property Agents of B.C., an organization that represents about 90 of B.C.’s 289 registered strata property managers.

Thom said bigger complexes, such as highrises with underground parking, elevators, swimming pools and extensive mechanical systems can require a lot of services.

Anybody providing services to strata corporations “would obviously have to increase their fees, including management companies,” he said.

Thom said it is also debatable whether strata corporations would want to press the provincial Ministry of Finance and the Canada Revenue Agency to give them some sort of tax credit or HST exemption to claim back the tax if it means a re-examination of their non-taxable status.

Most condominium owners are unaware of how the HST will hit their fees right now, Thom said, but the picture will become clearer once management firms start giving strata corporations their budgets for the coming year.

Gioventu said that how much the HST hits condominium owners will also depend on how much service suppliers can accommodate the impact of the tax in their fees.

“The service providers will be the ones that get [HST credits], so will they accommodate those increases in their pricing to offset [the tax]?” Gioventu asked. “That’s the really big question.”

depenner@vancouversun.com
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