With the election day today, our team of Abbotsford Mortgage Brokers took it upon themselves to take apart what’s been said and do a quick write up on what each political party is offering for the housing market. Keep in mind no government can fulfill these promises, based on reasoning.
Liberal:
- Expand the First-time Home Buyer Incentive for people in Victoria, Vancouver and Toronto. The value of a qualifying home will go from 500,000 to nearly 800,000
- Add a one per cent annual tax on residential properties owned by those who are not Canadians and who do not live in Canada
- Help homeowners and landlords pay for retrofits by giving them an interest-free loan of up to $40,000
- Help people buy newly built homes that are certified zero-emissions by giving them a Net Zero Homes Grant of up to $5,000
- Create a low-cost national flood insurance program
- Make Energy Star certification mandatory for all new home appliances, as of 2022
- Give interested homeowners and landlords a free energy audit
- Retrofit 1.5 million homes, over the next five years
Conservative
- Increase amortization periods on insured mortgages to 30 years for first-time homebuyers
- Launch inquiry into money laundering in real estate
- Remove stress test for mortgage renewals
NDP
- Create 500,000 units of quality, affordable housing in the next 10 years
- Double the Home Buyer’s tax credit to $1,500 for first time buyers
- Remove GST/HST on the construction of new rental units
- Re-introduce 30-year terms to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) insured mortgages for first time home buyers
- Add $5 billion to spending on affordable housing in first 18 months in office
- Set up “fast-start” funds available to communities to kick-start construction of co-ops, social and non-profit housing; amount not specified
- Invest $40 million over four years in the Shelter Enhancement Program
Green Party
- Legislate that housing is a legally protected fundamental human right for all Canadians and permanent residents
- Increase the National Housing Co-investment Fund by $750 million for new builds, and the Canada Housing Benefit by $750 million for rent assistance for 125,000 households
- Get rid of the first-time home buyer grant
- Restore tax incentives for building purpose-built rental housing
- Remove “deemed” GST when a developer with empty condo units puts them on the rental market
- Change the legislation that stops Indigenous organizations from accessing financing through CMHC