New budget and home ownership?

REALTORS’® lobbying efforts have achieved significant victories in the recently announced 2009 Federal Budget, including proposals to expand the RRSP Homebuyers’ Plan, provide a First-Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit, and provide a Home Renovation Tax Credit.

The implementation of these announcements depends on the approval of the Budget by the House of Commons.

REALTORS’® Efforts InstrumentalUnder the leadership of the Canadian Real Estate Association, REALTORS® from across the country, including TREB Members, played a key role in convincing the federal government to move ahead with these initiatives. In particular, REALTORS’® efforts focused on expanding the RRSP Homebuyers’ Plan to make it more useful for homebuyers. REALTORS® have been lobbying on this issue for a number of years.
Homebuyers’ Plan

• The federal budget proposes to increase the withdrawal limit for first-time homebuyers using the Homebuyers Plan from $20,000 to $25,000 (per individual).
• Under this program, first-time homebuyers are allowed to withdraw funds from their RRSP, tax-free, to put towards the down payment on a home. Amounts withdrawn under the HBP must be repaid over a 15-year period, starting the second year following the year of the withdrawal.
• Since 1992, an estimated 2 million Canadians have used the Home Buyers’ Plan to purchase approximately 900,000 homes, making this program a huge success. Unfortunately, as time has passed, the usefulness of this program eroded because withdrawal limits were not adjusted. For this reason, REALTORS® lobbied the federal government to increase the Home Buyers’ Plan withdrawal limit to $25,000.

First-Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit
• The Budget proposes a 15 per cent credit that would be applied to a $5,000 amount, and would provide up to $750 in tax relief to reduce costs associated with first home purchases.
• To assist first-time home buyers with the costs related to the purchase of a home such as legal fees, land transfer taxes, etc.
Home Renovation Tax Credit
• The Budget proposes a 15 per cent credit to be claimed on the portion of eligible home renovation expenditures exceeding $1,000, but not more than $10,000, meaning that the maximum tax credit that can be received is $1,350.
• Will apply to eligible home renovation expenditures for work performed, or goods acquired, after January 27, 2009 and before February 1, 2010, pursuant to agreements entered into after January 27, 2009.
• Credit can be claimed on eligible expenditures incurred on one or more of an individual’s eligible dwellings, including houses, cottages, and condominium units owned for personal use.

Additional InformationMore information is available from the Federal Government’s Budget Web Site. An overview of the government’s budget announcements is available on this page of the Government Budget Site.

Courtesy: Toronto Real Estate board

Asher
www.homesforgta.com

Real estate numbers looking up for 2009

Life in Canada's real estate market is expected to be brighter on the 2009 side of the annual divide, says Royal LePage upon releasing national sales data for the last three months of 2008.

The quarterly survey's Calgary data tells a story that has by now become familiar: just as Calgary's real estate market eclipsed the national average on the upside, it's doing so again on the way down.
The average price of a Calgary bungalow fell by 4.5% to $410,333 from $429,889 in the fourth quarter last year compared to one year ago, the survey says. Nationally, prices in this category fell by 4.8%.

The contrast between Calgary and national figures becomes pronounced in two-storey home and condominium categories. Prices in the former fell by 11.6% to $408,263 from $461,811, the steepest drop in the country, while condominium prices fell by 9.5% to $257,189 from $284,144, second only to Edmonton's 14% price drop. The new year will see a rebound of consumer confidence, which last month had plunged to depths not seen in nearly three decades.

"The tumultuous times that characterized the end of 2008 are not anticipated to define 2009," the survey says, noting nearly half of the respondents said they believe the public funds Ottawa is just about to pump into the economy will have a positive impact on the country's real estate market. As well, 82% of the respondents said they believe Barack Obama's ascension to the presidency of the U.S. will boost the confidence of consumers north of the border.
That confidence remains depressed, says the Conference Board of Canada, which released its January index of consumer confidence yesterday. The Prairie provinces, including Alberta, saw the confidence index dip 1.8% this month to 75 points, well above the national average.

Coutesy: Calagary Sun

Asher Ullah
www.homesforgta.com