Vancouver proposes tax on empty houses to boost market
Vancouver, home of Canada’s priciest housing market, is proposing a tax on empty homes to help address an “unprecedented” low vacancy rate as residents struggle to find affordable housing.
Vancouver’s preferred option is to have the provincial government of British Columbia create a new tax for empty or underoccupied residential homes, Mayor Gregor Robertson said last week.
Failing that, the city plans to impose a business tax on empty homes held as investment properties. The city wants a response from the province by Aug. 1.
“Vancouver housing is first and foremost for homes, not a commodity to make money with,” Robertson said. “We need a tax on empty homes to encourage the best use of all our housing, and help boost our rental supply at a time when there’s almost no vacancy.”
Prices in Vancouver are the highest in Canada, topping C$1.5 million ($1.2 million) for a detached home in May, a 37 percent rise over the prior year, according to that city’s real estate board. At 0.6 percent, the current vacancy rate means there are only 330 purpose-built rental apartments available at a given time, Robertson said. That’s in a municipal region of about 2.5 million people.
5 responses to “Vancouver proposes tax on empty houses to boost market”
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And people complain about Hawaii. When we look at the global market, we’ll see what a value we still are with only modest year over year price increases.
Government intervention in any market usually makes things worst.
Watch out……the Law of Unintended Consequences always kicks in.
We need this.
They can never prove the notion of “empty homes held as investment properties”. There are lots of wealthy people who own homes in desirable areas and only use it at vacation time.