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Election Day – What Each Party is Offering for Housing

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Election - Abbotsford Mortgage Broker

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