The provincial government has clarified what the property speculation tax is going to look like, but the finance minister is being less specific about the measure of success.
Carole James is, for the time being, keeping such measurements vague.
“I hope to see a moderation. I hope to see more supply on. I hope to see more opportunities for people to find that affordable housing.”
James says there aren’t set targets, but they will be monitoring rental availability and rates, real estate prices and housing starts closely.
“There are only so many tools that are in government’s hands, but we are going to be watching the tools that we are using. We are going to be monitoring very closely. We’re going to be taking a look at what change needs to occur.”
However, she notes they haven’t determined exactly what amount of change they want to see in rental vacancies or real estate.
“We haven’t looked at percentages, because there are so many factors when it comes to housing. Government policy and government direction is simply one tool.”
As far as how this tax might affect sale prices and volume…
“I think people are always going to want to live in British Columbia; we’re an incredible province.”
James says they are flexible to make more changes to the tax if need be, but says important factors like mortgage rates and interest rates are beyond their control.
As clarified by the government on Monday, beginning this fall, B.C. residents whose properties are affected by the tax will pay 0.5 per cent annually, while other Canadians will pay one per cent, and foreigners will pay two per cent.
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