HST Rules - Effective April 2012

On Feburary 17th, 2012 the Government announced the transitional rules for returning to the PST. Below you will find information as well as the detailed tax information notice on these rules.

Mortgage Rule Changes Hinge on Spring Market

Government-imposed tightening of mortgage qualifications has clearly been a red hot topic.

Given the public debate over housing valuations, the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals (CAAMP) wants to ensure the government has all the facts before making any mortgage policy changes. As a result, CAAMP president, Jim Murphy, recently met with officials in Ottawa to deliver CAAMP's latest research findings.

March 2, 2012

Greater Vancouver housing market trends near long-term averages as spring market approaches
Closer alignment between home buyer and seller activity helped bring greater balance to the Greater Vancouver housing market in February.The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver reached 2,545 on the MLS® system in February 2012. This represents a 61.4 per cent increase compared to the 1,577 sales recorded in January 2012, a decline of 17.8 per cent compared to the 3,097 sales in February 2011 and a 2.9 per cent increase from the 2,473 home sales in February 2010

Vancouver's population is Growing fast

Vancouver's suburbs are booming, according to the latest census data, with population growth rates reaching nearly 20 per cent over the last five years in some cities.

The number of people in the metropolitan Vancouver area increased by 9.3 per cent between 2006 and 2011, driven by huge population growth in places like Surrey.