While Canada’s low mortgage rates began to creep up at the end of 2016, mortgagors have been happy to see them remain relatively unchanged since then. However, the March Mortgage Rate Forecast recently released by the BC Real Estate Association suggests that those days may be coming to an end. Citing a stronger Canadian economy and “a large degree of policy incoherence” in the United States, the report predicts an increase in mortgage rates throughout the second half of 2017.
Only 6 months after introducing the controversial legislation, the BC government has decided to cast aside the 15% tax on real estate purchases for foreigners who are working and paying taxes here. With the Vancouver real estate market having experienced a dramatic decline in sales transactions since the tax was first implemented in August, Christy Clark claims the new exemption is being put in place to encourage more people to move to Vancouver. She made the announcement in