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Property Taxes in Canada

Property Taxes in Canada

For a lot of first time homebuyers understanding how property taxes work in Canada can be intimidating. Some questions one might have could simply be; where is my money going? Some of the revenue that’s collected via property taxes goes toward both the municipal and provincial governments. But understanding exactly where that money is going is an important part of homeownership. RE/MAX Canada recently shared a great article about this very topic and have explained the process in an easy to understand way.

“Property taxes are mandatory annual payments that owners of real estate property, such as land, houses, or commercial buildings, must pay to their municipal or provincial government. Serving as a primary source of revenue for these governments, property taxes play a crucial role in financing critical community services and infrastructure. These can include schools, libraries, parks, road maintenance, public transportation, emergency services, and many more amenities that help maintain the quality of life within a community.” — RE/MAX Canada

It’s important to learn about how these taxes work in order to be a responsible homeowner. In this blog post, we’ll go over why it’s important to understand and why you should consider what the property taxes would be when creating a budget.

Municipal and Provincial Taxes – How They are Calculated?

It makes sense that property taxes would vary depending on the municipality and province that you’re residing in. Each city has its own way of assessing taxes and what they’ll go toward. This assessment is managed by each province’s assessment body and is based on each property’s location, if it’s had improvements or renovations, the age of the property and the size.

Then we have municipal tax rates to consider as well, local municipalities determine the property tax based on its value at the time. According to RE/MAX Canada, this is done by mills; “one mill equals $1 in property tax levied per $1,000 of a property’s assessed value.” These rates can vary depending on the municipality of course.

“The formula to calculate the property tax is Property Tax = Property Value Assessment x Municipal Tax Rate. For example, if a home is valued at $500,000 and the municipal tax rate is 0.5%, the homeowner would owe $2,500 in property taxes for the year.” – RE/MAX Canada

We recommend doing some research or asking your REALTOR to help you better understand how these taxes are calculated. This again, is an important part of setting your budget before you go out and view listings. Let’s now look at how taxes may vary form province to province.

Taxes May Vary Province to Province

Now that we understand how property taxes are calculated, let’s look at how they are assessed on the provincial level and how they work. Since each province has its own ways to determine their property taxes, understanding how it works is another important part of the new homeownership process.

In the report by RE/MAX Canada, they explained it as follows; each province has its own way to calculate and assess property values – so it only makes sense to research what your province’s taxes are and how that will affect your monthly budget. Since these taxes are an important part of the provinces revenue, the municipalities as well in fact, it means the taxes themselves can vary a great deal from province to province. This can also be determined by the real estate market at the time as well.

“The real estate market conditions can differ significantly between provinces, affecting average property values. Provinces with higher average property values might generate more tax revenue even with lower tax rates, while provinces with lower average property values might need higher tax rates to generate the necessary revenue.” – RE/MAX Canada

Learning more about your provinces property taxes and your municipality property taxes are such an important step, as we mentioned previously. Now that you have a better understanding of how they are calculated and assessed you can start to consider your budget for your new home and you can find out what the property taxes are in your area. Contacting an experienced real estate agent can help make this entire process easier, since they are knowledgeable and have experience with this.

Contact the VanDinther Team

Contacting the VanDinther Team will be well worth it, they are a team of highly knowledgeable and experienced real estate professionals. This means that you can rely on their ability to help you find the home you’ve been looking for and help you to stay within your budget.

Do you have any questions or concerns about the real estate market or are looking to list your property? Please feel free to contact the VanDinther Team today, they can be reached by phone at 905-330-2002 or by email at info@loriv.com. The VanDinther Team looks forward to helping you make the right moves.

Alternative Mortgage Lenders

Burlington Real Estate Agents, Home Buying and Selling, Mortgage / By Erin / August 28, 2023

Alternative Mortgage Lenders

Have you heard of Alternative Mortgage Lenders? In this blog post we hope to explore what you can expect when you choose this option for a mortgage lender. At this time the Bank of Canada continues to raise interest rates and this has had an impact on the mortgage market. The effect this is having means that some people are being turned away from even getting a mortgage and others are paying high prices.

“The conventional five-year mortgage lending rate is inching closer to six percent again. This also means that the mortgage stress test, which determines if you qualify for a home mortgage based on income and expenses, is getting harder to pass since it is the interest rate plus two per cent. So, for example, if the national average price for a home is $700,000, and you are making the national median gross income of $67,000, you will be denied a mortgage.” – RE/MAX Canada

Another issue that was reported by RE/MAX Canada was that in some cases someone might be rejected because of the current real estate market. This might be due to the fact that the real estate prices are lower or other market factors.

In the report released by RE/MAX Canada, they stated that due to these sorts of conditions applicants might choose to go with an alternative mortgage lender. The question now becomes, what is an alternative mortgage lender? We hope to help answer that question in this blog post, at the end of this blog we’ll provide you with information to get in contact with the VanDinther Team.

What are Alternative Mortgage Lenders?

We are very familiar with the typical way to get a mortgage, usually this is through a bank or credit union. In some cases, one might have to go about this in a different way, these are what we call alternative mortgage lenders.

“Alternative mortgage lenders are financial institutions offering mortgage loans outside the conventional banking system. They serve as substitutes for traditional banks and credit unions, allowing individuals, whether they are self-employed applicants or borrowers with poor credit scores, who might not qualify for a loan.” – RE/MAX Canada

The alternative lenders will still look at the same factors that the banks and credit unions would. Such as the property value and the applicant’s assets. There are some great benefits to choosing an alternative lender, as well as some risks.

Benefits & Risks of Choosing an Alternative Mortgage Lender

There are always going to be benefits and risks associated with choosing an alternative mortgage lender. RE/MAX Canada listed these risks in a recent report to help us better understand. This is important because we want to be able to consider all of the options available before making a decision. Listed below are the risks and benefits according to RE/MAX Canada.

Risks:

Interest Rates
Fees
Predatory Practices
Regulations

“Unlike the larger financial institutions, the alternative mortgage lending market is not as regulated or monitored by the government. Put simply, there is a lack of oversight, meaning fewer consumer protections exist. This will require borrowers to do their due diligence by studying the company’s compliance, legitimacy, and reputation.” – RE/MAX Canada

Benefits:

Flexibility
Personal Finance
Speed
Housing Market

“Amidst the once-in-a-century pandemic, the Canadian real estate market witnessed an unprecedented surge, thanks to the Bank of Canada (BoC) slashing interest rates to nearly zero. Numerous individuals capitalized on this lucrative opportunity by applying for mortgages to acquire residential properties. Although some applicants may have faced delays or insufficient income, alternative lenders provided viable options to leverage current market trends and maximize low interest rates and capital appreciation.” – RE/MAX Canada

Now that you’ve learned about alternative mortgage lenders you have some decisions to make. Asking yourself if this is the right choice for you or if you might qualify for a more traditional mortgage lender. That’s the benefit of working with a professional real estate agent, they are able to offer you advice about the market and best practices.

Contact The VanDinther Team

The VanDinther Team consists of a group of highly qualified and experienced professionals. This means that you can rely on their expertise and advice when it comes to not only the real estate market, but also the right kind of mortgage lender.

If you have any questions or concerns about the real estate market or are looking to list your property, please contact the VanDinther Team today. To contact the VanDinther Team please call us at 905-330-2002 or email us at info@loriv.com. All of us on the VanDinther Team look forward to helping you make the right moves.

Homeownership in Canada: What to Expect

Burlington Real Estate Agents, Home Buying, Housing Prices, Real Estate Market / By Erin / January 11, 2022

Homeownership in Canada

When it comes to homeownership in Canada there’s a lot to know and to prepare for. It can sometimes be difficult for young prospective buyers new to the market. This is due to the rising housing prices that we’ve seen over the past few years.

There was a high demand in 2020 but a low inventory which caused the housing prices to rise. This created what we call a sellers market, meaning that the seller can look for the best offer on their property, causing the seller to go for the best offer. This is usually higher than what the asking price was to begin with.

In a 2016 Canadian census, it was reported that in the year 2000 the rate of homeownership was just below 64 per cent and increased to 68.55 per cent by 2020. This was based on a group ages 55-64. “The 2016 Canadian census provided some helpful information for professionals and homeowners alike. While the data is from several years ago, it still provides a solid snapshot of what home ownership is like in Canada.”

It was also reported that, “78% of homeowners are couples, some with children and some without. Royal LePage Signature Realty also reported that around 48% of young buyers in the 25-35 age group owned their own home. As well, 92% of these young people have a positive association with real estate investments and believe that purchasing a home is a good financial investment.”

This census also indicated that many of these homeowners had a higher education than secondary school and had a higher income. It also indicated that this group of homeowners had responsible spending habits. As of 2022 we know this may have changed because there have been many individuals that have been affected by the ongoing pandemic.

Real Estate Market Statistics

While it is true that the ongoing pandemic has had an impact on many industries and the economy, real estate saw on of its biggest booms. According to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), there were a reported 551,000 homeowners that were able to purchase a home in 2020 and 2021. The pandemic caused mortgage rates to drop which lead to low borrowing rates and also low interest rates.

“Because of this, many buyers realized that they could purchase a home and lock in a low interest rate with a low monthly mortgage payment. This led to high demand for houses and a shortage of houses on the market.”

COVID-19 and the Real Estate Market

It was also reported that the pandemic caused there to be more out of town buyers. They were purchasing residential properties outside of the larger cities to move to more rural locations. Due to this we saw the median cost of residential property rise 52.9 per cent in places such as Muskoka to $625,000.

While some chose to still buy and sell during the pandemic, there were some who decided not to make any moves. This was due to the fact that for a while there were no in-person open houses and everything was moved to online. However, it was still reported that 84 per cent of potential new homeowners stated that they still plan to buy a new home in the near future.

When it comes to the affordability of housing in Canada there’s a lot to consider. According to the CREA, the average price of a residential property rose more than had been previously predicted. By mid 2021 the price had risen to over $700,000.

This rise in the price of a residential property caused there to be an increase in monthly mortgage payments, causing there to be a rise in the downpayment. This then caused there to be less entry level housing for new homeowners. We can take a look at the December 2021 real estate market statistics to see what it was like for buyers in Burlington, Ontario.

Burlington Real Estate Market Statistics for December 2021

According to the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB), there were a total of 811 sales of residential properties in the entire RAHB market area. Sales in the area saw a decrease of 32 per cent since the previous month, and an 11 per cent decrease compared to the same time last year.

In December 2021, it was reported that there was a 50 per cent decrease in new listings when compared to November 2021. There was a six per cent decrease in new listings since December 2020. The average price of a residential property was $931,787 in the entire RAHB market area. This was a two per cent increase compared to the previous month and a 27 per cent increase compared to the same time last year.

In Burlington, the price of a residential property was $1,221,317 with a total of 136 sales. This was a 26 per cent increase when compared to the same time last year. The median price of a home in December 2021 was reported to be $1,155,000, which is a 36.9 per cent increase.

“December 2021 saw a new residential average sale price record to close out the year. The number of properties changing hands in December did not rival the momentum from December 2020, however, we have never seen the months of inventory and active listings available this low before. Generally, most people wait until after the holidays to list their homes, but with approximately 300 residential properties on the market heading into 2022, we are expecting to continue to see tight conditions with such low levels of supply.” RAHB President Lou Piriano

Contact Lori VanDinther and Team

There are a lot of real estate statistics talked about in our blog this month, it’s important to see what’s going on in the market. This way we can better understand why prices and mortgage rates are they way they are. If have any questions about these statistics my team and I would be happy to help.

You can contact us, we love getting to connect with our clients, to help you find the home of your dreams in Burlington, Ontario and surrounding areas. Please contact me either by email at info@loriv.com, or by phone at 905-632-2199.