How will Toronto’s new Land Transfer Tax affect it’s real estate market in the next few months?
The folks at RE/MAX Condos Plus have this to say:
- Expect the market to be much busier until January 31, 2008. (The tax takes effect February 1, 2008)
- Prices will increase in coming weeks to “negate any tax savings.” (Some feel they’ve started to adjust already)
- Starting February 1, 2008 the market will likely slow significantly, leaving better deals to be found.
RE/MAX Condos Plus also believes the market will digest the new tax in stride. They note that after the GST was introduced, “retail sales slowed for a few months and then everything went back to normal.”
From a mortgage standpoint, RE/MAX Condos Plus thinks people will need more flexible terms to help them afford the tax. Specifically, Torontonians may gravitate towards mortgages that are bigger, require less down payment, and have longer amortizations.
That means, in essence, Toronto has essentially forced home buyers to pay much more interest, over a much longer period of time.
And Mississauga to add 5% surcharge to 2008 property tax as well
http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/274687
Geez….Are there any cities in the GTA that know how to manage a budget???
The hit will come later and irreversible. We will see…the wound and the bleeding…
At the low end of the market, perhaps. But someone buying a million dollar home probably won’t care. Many people still don’t know the surtaxes even exist, and I doubt it will affect people who HAVE to move into the city. JP
In case it helps, here is the official Toronto land transfer tax information link:
http://www.toronto.ca/finance/revenue_tools.htm
I was searching on internet for a tax calculator for my school work and I found a 2008 Canadian income tax calculator, it was very usefull for me, because I need to compare tax payable in different provinces in Canada and this is the only calculator I have found.