Among suggestions raised were increasing the value of the tax credit and making said credit refundable
The Quebec Federation of Real Estate Boards called upon the province’s political parties and power brokers to present the concrete steps that they would take to improve access to home ownership.
The urging came in the wake of Parti Québécois vowing to increase the tax credit for the purchase of a first property should it emerge victorious in the October 1 elections.
The promise mirrored one of the QFREB’s previous suggestions to increase the value of the existing tax credit.
The group – which represents the 11 real estate boards in the province’s markets – also proposed transfer tax refunds for first-time buyers.
“There is no question that real estate transfer taxes (‘welcome tax’) are an impediment to homeownership for many Quebecers. The commitment made by the Parti Québécois is certainly a step in the right direction, but Quebec can do a lot better in helping first-time homebuyers,” QFREB president Patrick Juanéda said.
Read more: Coalition of advocates calls on Trudeau to fulfill housing promises
“I encourage the other three main political parties to share the measures they intend to implement to facilitate homeownership in Québec during this debate. Young families seem to be at the center of this election campaign, yet this aspect has been almost absent from the discussions,” Juanéda added.
A recent analysis by Point2 Homes that looked at Statistics Canada’s 2016 data found that for the first time in nearly half a century, home ownership across Canada declined. Nearly all (11 out of 13) provinces saw their rates shrinking since the last measurements performed by StatsCan in 2011.
Ownership rate nationwide fell by 1.2%, down to 67.8%. This is despite Quebec (with a 61.3% rate) being one of the only two provinces that saw home ownership increase since 2011 (the other being the Northwest Territories with a 53.7% rate).
Related stories:
Demand for Montreal’s plexes on an upswing
